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VEP provides specific markers of concussion-related visual symptoms
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Electrophysiology testing proved to be an effective method to identify individuals with convergence insufficiency related to a history of concussion vs. individuals with convergence insufficiency and no history of concussion.
A total of 79 patients with convergence insufficiency, including children and adults, were selected from the population seeking optometric services at a Midwestern clinic.
Thirty-five of these patients reported a history of one or two concussions. Characteristic symptoms of convergence insufficiency included visual fatigue during near work, slow reading speed, poor comprehension, loss of concentration, double vision, blurring, headaches following near visual tasks, photophobia and motion sickness.
Visual evoked potential (VEP) assessment showed deficits in magnocellular processing and lower cortical excitability in response to 0.50-cycle/degree vertical sinusoidal gratings in patients with a history of concussion that were not present in the other group of patients. This suggest that concussion affects the magnocellular neural pathway, resulting in specific deficits in the processing of visual stimuli.
According to the authors, these findings “provide support for the development of a diagnostic method that distinguishes magnocellular deficits in individuals with a history of concussion” and might establish new “criteria for the differential diagnosis of convergence insufficiency and mild traumatic brain injury.”– by Michela Cimberle
Disclosure: None of the authors reported relevant financial disclosures.
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