Neurotoxic actions of methylmercury on the primate visual system

Visual system consequences of exposure to methylmercury were studied in six adult, macaque monkeys. Visual field measures, visual thresholds, and morphological examination were used to determine the nature and possible reversibility of alterations in vision. Visual field constriction (especially in the inferior-nasal field) was an early and apparently reversible indicator of methylmercury intoxication. Such a field loss was found in the absence of either visual threshold changes or morphologic alterations in visual cortex. More severe poisoning resulted in persistent field constriction, disruption of visual thresholds, and death. A single monkey showed a permanent, bilateral concentric constriction of visual fields. The locus of visual cortex pathology in this monkey corresponded to the projection of the peripheral visual field.