Cerebral trauma-induced dyschromatopsia in the left hemifield: case presentation

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Ophthalmology
• Neurology

Background:

• Acquired color vision anomalies are classified as achromatopsias or dyschromatopsias.
• Key brain regions for color processing include V1, human V4 (hV4), and V4α.
• Cerebral color anomalies can co-occur with visual field loss and agnosias.

Observation:

• A 24-year-old woman sustained a right anterior temporal lobe contusion.
• She experienced color distortion, perceiving blue as green in her left visual field.
• Conventional tests were normal, but short wavelength automated perimetry (SWAP) revealed left hemi-dyschromatopsia.

Findings:

• Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) identified abnormalities in the right fusiform gyrus.
• Follow-up at 14 months showed resolved subjective symptoms but persistent SWAP abnormalities.
• Optical coherence tomography (OCT) detected thinning of the ganglion cell complex (GCC).

Implications:

• Local abnormalities in the anterior fusiform gyrus can cause mild cerebral dyschromatopsia.
• Early diagnosis requires careful patient symptom evaluation and specialized tests like SWAP and OCT.
• These findings underscore the importance of objective testing for acquired cerebral color anomalies.