[Diagnosis and differential diagnosis of hysteric amblyopia using psychophysical and electro-ophthalmological...

In three patients with psychogenic amblyopia the computerized visual field, the ERG, the flash light (H-EP) and pattern reversal stimulated (M-EP) cortical potentials were recorded. Differential diagnosis between psychogenic amblyopia on the one hand, and functional amblyopia and organic lesions of the retrobulbar visual pathways on the other was shown to be possible. In the cases with organic retrobulbar lesions of visual pathways, visual field defects and pathologic H-EP's and M-EP's were found. In functional amblyopia only the M-EP responses are diminished in amplitude. In psychogenic amblyopia only the computerized visual field shows pathologic changes.