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Eight Cynomolgus fasciculata who had graded laser lesions placed in one eye 6 years previously were evaluated by a stimulation and electrophysiologic recording technique to produce maps of retinal function. All animal testing was performed under IACUC approved protocols. The single q-switched pulses from a neodymium-YAG laser produced lesions of 4 types: no visible change, minimal visible lesions, `white dot' lesions (localized circumscribed retinal blanching) and `red dot' lesions (contained retinal hemorrhage) in the eye at the time of placement. Single exposures had been made in four locations: 5 degrees superior, inferior and temporal to the fovea, and one foveally. The multifocal (perimetric) electroretinogram was recorded from specialized contact lenses through hospital grade amplifiers. Initial analyses gave field maps that demonstrated apparent relative loss of function in some lesion sites. However, these losses were variable and occasionally patchy (i.e. disconnected areas of low signal). Repeated examinations of the same retinal areas showed high variability, even with 15 minute acquisition times and no apparent gaze drift. Apparent losses did not appear to correlate with visible retinal changes at the lesion site. Further research is needed to determine the biological substrate for this variability in response topography.
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