Does pattern electroretinogram spatial tuning alteration in Parkinson's disease depend on motor disturbances or retinal dopaminergic loss?

Systemic decrease of dopaminergic cells, such as in Parkinson's disease may produce visual alterations in humans. In order to show possible pattern electroretinogram (PERG) spatial tuning function (STF) alterations due to impaired dopaminergic transmission in humans, we studied a group of Parkinson's disease patients before and during treatment with the dopamine precursor, levodopa, and compared their performances with those of an age-matched control group. Moreover, in order to exclude the possible involvement of motor disabilities to produce PERG alterations, we also investigated PERG responses in post-traumatic parkinsonian patients who exhibited motor abnormalities as a consequence of focal lesions of basal ganglia, in the absence of systemic dopaminergic degeneration. Our results showed a clear decrease of PERG responses in Parkinson's disease patients particularly at medium spatial frequency range (2.7-4.0 cycles/degree) with a substantial preservation of responses at low frequencies. Levodopa therapy reversed these alterations in Parkinson's disease patients, resulting in the recovery of a normal tuning function shape. In contrast to Parkinson's disease, the tuning function appeared to be preserved in post-traumatic parkinsonian patients. Our results clearly establish a relationship between retinal alteration in PD patients and dopaminergic retinal function.

[1]  J. Calvert,et al.  Processing of spatial contrast in peripheral vision in Parkinson's disease. , 1992, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[2]  M. Yahr,et al.  Visual dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. Loss in spatiotemporal contrast sensitivity. , 1987, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[3]  R. Weiler,et al.  Dopaminergic modulation of gap junction permeability between amacrine cells in mammalian retina , 1992, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[4]  K. Chiappa,et al.  Pattern ERG: effects of reference electrode site, stimulus mode and check size. , 1989, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[5]  G. Bernardi,et al.  An electrophysiological study of D2 dopaminergic actions in normal human retina: A tool in Parkinson's disease , 1992, Neuroscience Letters.

[6]  C. Marsden,et al.  Recent Developments in Parkinson's Disease , 1986 .

[7]  G. D. Morsier.  Parkinsonisme consécutif à une lésion traumatique du noyau rouge et du locus niger. La dégénérescence du faisceau central de la calotte (f.c.c.) , 1960 .

[8]  G. Barker,et al.  Magnetic resonance spectroscopic study of parkinsonism related to boxing. , 1995, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[9]  C. Baker,et al.  Differences between electroretinograms of cat and primate. , 1986, Journal of neurophysiology.

[10]  J. Dowling,et al.  Organization of the retina of the mudpuppy, Necturus maculosus. II. Intracellular recording. , 1969, Journal of neurophysiology.

[11]  K Naka,et al.  Signal transmission in the catfish retina. I. Transmission in the outer retina. , 1985, Journal of neurophysiology.

[12]  Ralph J. Jensen,et al.  Rod pathways in mammalian retinae , 1990, Trends in Neurosciences.

[13]  D. Baylor,et al.  Receptive fields of cones in the retina of the turtle , 1971, The Journal of physiology.

[14]  S Nightingale,et al.  Visual evoked cortical potentials and pattern electroretinograms in Parkinson's disease and control subjects. , 1986, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[15]  S. Calzetti,et al.  Simultaneous VEP and PERG investigations in early Parkinson's disease. , 1990, Journal of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry.

[16]  P. Stanzione,et al.  Low contrast stimuli enhance PERG sensitivity to the visual dysfunction in Parkinson's disease. , 1992, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[17]  D. Kaufman,et al.  Effects of age and sex on pattern electroretinograms and visual evoked potentials. , 1987, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[18]  C. Ellis,et al.  Electrophysiological signs of retinal dopamine deficiency in recently diagnosed Parkinson's disease and a follow up study , 1994, Vision Research.

[19]  D Regan,et al.  A high frequency mechanism which underlies visual evoked potentials. , 1968, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[20]  John E. Dowling,et al.  Dopamine enhances excitatory amino acid-gated conductances in cultured retinal horizontal cells , 1987, Nature.

[21]  Haloperidol delays pattern electroretinograms more than visual evoked potentials in normal humans : a pharmacological tool in Parkinson's disease pathophysiology , 1991 .

[22]  I. Gottlob,et al.  Alteration of visual evoked potentials and electroretinograms in Parkinson's disease. , 1987, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[23]  M Tagliati,et al.  The pattern electroretinogram in Parkinson's disease reveals lack of retinal spatial tuning. , 1996, Electroencephalography and clinical neurophysiology.

[24]  G. Trick,et al.  Improved electrode for electroretinography. , 1979, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[25]  M. Hoehn,et al.  Parkinsonism , 1967, Neurology.

[26]  G. Bernardi,et al.  Visual alterations in de novo Parkinson's disease , 1995, Neurology.

[27]  C. Enroth-Cugell,et al.  The contrast sensitivity of retinal ganglion cells of the cat , 1966, The Journal of physiology.

[28]  Paul Witkovsky,et al.  Chapter 10 Functional roles of dopamine in the vertebrate retina , 1991 .

[29]  C. Baker,et al.  Human pattern-evoked electroretinogram. , 1984, Journal of neurophysiology.

[30]  T. Di Paolo,et al.  Decreased dopamine in the retinas of patients with Parkinson's disease. , 1990, Investigative ophthalmology & visual science.

[31]  S. Fahn.  Members of the UPDRS Development Committee. Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale , 1987 .

[32]  M. Piccolino,et al.  Decrease of gap junction permeability induced by dopamine and cyclic adenosine 3':5'-monophosphate in horizontal cells of turtle retina , 1984, The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience.

[33]  C. Baker,et al.  Current source density analysis of linear and non‐linear components of the primate electroretinogram. , 1988, The Journal of physiology.

[34]  H. Wagner,et al.  Localization and function of dopamine in the adult vertebrate retina , 1992, Neurochemistry International.

[35]  M. Ghilardi,et al.  The importance of stimulus selection in VEP practice: the clinical relevance of visual physiology , 1986 .

[36]  Hans Strasburger,et al.  THE ANALYSIS OF STEADY STATE EVOKED POTENTIALS REVISITED , 1987 .

[37]  R. Hess,et al.  The pattern evoked electroretinogram in optic neuritis. A combined psychophysical and electrophysiological study. , 1986, Brain : a journal of neurology.

[38]  G. Bernardi,et al.  Increasing doses of l-sulpiride reveal dose- and spatial frequency-dependent effects of D2 selective blockade in the human electroretinogram , 1995, Vision Research.

[39]  David C. Burr,et al.  The effects of ageing on the pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential in humans , 1991, Vision Research.

[40]  Y. Liu,et al.  Calcium currents in turtle retinal ganglion cells. II. Dopamine modulation via a cyclic AMP-dependent mechanism. , 1994, Journal of neurophysiology.

[41]  C Trenkwalder,et al.  Visual thresholds to low‐contrast pattern displacement, color contrast, and luminance contrast stimuli in Parkinson's disease , 1994, Movement disorders : official journal of the Movement Disorder Society.

[42]  C. Bulens,et al.  Effect of levodopa treatment on contrast sensitivity in Parkinson's disease , 1987, Annals of Neurology.

[43]  Mm Hohen.  Parkinsonism : onset progression and mortality , 1967 .

[44]  G B Arden,et al.  The pattern electroretinogram , 1988, Eye.