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Differential activation of cerebral blood flow by stimulating amblyopic and fellow eye

  • Clinical Investigation
  • Published:
Graefe's Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose

Positron emission tomography (PET), the blood flow response in the primary visual cortex (V1) to two visual stimuli, low temporal frequency (6 Hz) to activate the parvocellular system, and high temporal frequency (25 Hz) to activate the magnocellular system were used to investigate pathophysiologic mechanism of amblyopia.

Methods

Five women and one man who were aged between 26 and 60 years, who were ophthalmologically normal except for amblyopia, and who had corrected visual acuity in the amblyopic eye of 0.6 or worse were examined. An intravenous injection of the H215O was given, and the regional cerebral blood flow was measured by PET during full-field stimulation with either 6 Hz or 25 Hz flicker to the amblyopic or the sound eye.

Result

The activation of blood flow in the contra-lateral area V1 by the 6-Hz stimulation of the sound eye was greater than that during the stimulation of the amblyopic eye (P<0.05, small volume correction, n=6). With 25-Hz stimulation of the sound and amblyopic eyes, the blood flow in the contra-lateral and ipsi-lateral areas V1 was not significantly different.

Conclusion

The decreased activation of blood flow in the contra-lateral V1 by low temporal frequency stimuli supports the hypothesis that the parvocellular pathway in amblyopic eyes is depressed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Tokyo Medical and Dental University Graduate School, Tokyo, Japan

    Shoichi Mizoguchi, Yukihisa Suzuki, Motohiro Kiyosawa & Manabu Mochizuki

  2. Positron Medical Center, Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology, Tokyo, Japan

    Shoichi Mizoguchi, Yukihisa Suzuki, Motohiro Kiyosawa & Kenji Ishii

Authors
  1. Shoichi Mizoguchi
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  2. Yukihisa Suzuki
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  3. Motohiro Kiyosawa
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  4. Manabu Mochizuki
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  5. Kenji Ishii
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Correspondence to Motohiro Kiyosawa.

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Mizoguchi, S., Suzuki, Y., Kiyosawa, M. et al. Differential activation of cerebral blood flow by stimulating amblyopic and fellow eye. Graefe's Arch Clin Exp Ophthalmol 243, 576–582 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-004-1009-5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00417-004-1009-5

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