The relationship between full field electroretinogram and perimetry-like visual thresholds in RCS rats during photoreceptor degeneration and rescue by cell transplants

Dark-adapted full field electroretinogram (ERG) and visual receptive field thresholds (recorded from the superior colliculus) were correlated in a model of retinal degeneration, the Royal College of Surgeons rat. In both untreated and retinal pigment epithelium cell transplanted rats, optimal correlation was between b-wave amplitude and preserved visual field area with thresholds under a defined level. The work shows that the magnitude of the b-wave can be used to predict the computed area and degree of visual field preservation recorded in the central nervous system. These observations validate using ERG to assess residual visual function and the effect of transplantation.