The Study of Phosphene Illusion in Students with Partial Atrophy of the Optic Nerve and a Normal Fundus

Abstract

We studied phosphene illusions in children with partial atrophy of the optic nerve (PAON) and children with normal retina and optic nerve. We observed 22 students with PAON and 24 students with a normal fundus (control group). We used test images in the variants of “scintillating grid” with disks of different diameters displayed on the computer screen. In children with PAON, we observed a shift of the maximum values of the illusion force in the direction of increasing diameters of the discs in the test images. In contrast to the control group, there was no significant difference in the severity of the illusion in students with PAON when the test image was rotated by 45°. The extinction illusion in children with PAON is more pronounced than in children with normal fundus.