[Pattern and light electroretinograms in branch occlusions of the central retinal artery]

Electroretinographical responses to brightness (H-ERG, Ganzfeld illumination) and pattern reversal (M-ERG, illuminating an area of 20 degrees) were recorded in two cases of occlusion of the temporal inferior branch of the retinal artery. While the H-ERG exhibited essentially normal responses, the M-ERG was markedly disturbed. With central fixation the amplitude of response to pattern was decreased by more than 50 percent. With peripheral fixation (14 degrees) exposing most of the diseased part of the retina, the M-ERG was extinguished, whereas in the fellow eye pattern responses were present. The findings strongly support the notion that the M-ERG at least partly reflects the activity of retinal ganglion cells.