The 'flight of colours' test in multiple sclerosis, retrobulbar neuritis and healthy controls

The results of the test for afterimages ('flight of colours'; FOC) in healthy controls, MS patients and persons with a history of retrobulbar neuritis are presented. The FOC proved to be a reliable test of involvement of the visual system in these diseases. This concerns the duration of the afterimages as well as the palette of colours. The results were in accordance with those of the VEP, provided patients with a retrobulbar neuritis more than three years ago were omitted. In these persons the FOC proved to be more sensitive than the flash-VEP in detecting old lesions. It was concluded that these methods measure different aspects of the visual system.