Comparison of Stimulus Types for Retinotopic Cortical Mapping of Macular Disease
Date
2023Author
Pawloff, Maximilian
Linhardt, David
Woletz, Michael
Hummer, Allan
Sacu, Stefan
Vasileiadi, Maria
Lerma Usabiaga, Garikoitz
Holder, Graham
Schmidt-Erfurth, Ursula M.
Windischberger, Christian
Ritter, Markus
Metadata
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Pawloff M, Linhardt D, Woletz M, Hummer A, Sacu S, Vasileiadi M, Garikoitz LU, Holder G, Schmidt-Erfurth UM,Windischberger C, Ritter M. Comparison of stimulus types for retinotopic cortical mapping of macular disease. Transl Vis Sci Technol. 2023;12(3):6, https://doi.org/10.1167/tvst.12.3.6
translational vision science & technology
translational vision science & technology
Abstract
Purpose: Retinotopic maps acquired using functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) provide a valuable adjunct in the assessment of macular function at the level of
the visual cortex. The present study quantitatively assessed the performance of different
visual stimulation approaches for mapping visual field coverage.
Methods: Twelve patients with geographic atrophy (GA) secondary to age-related
macular degeneration (AMD)were examined using high-resolution ultra-high field fMRI
(Siemens Magnetom 7T) and microperimetry (MP; Nidek MP-3). The population receptive
field (pRF)-based coverage maps obtained with two different stimulus techniques
(moving bars, and rotating wedges and expanding rings) were compared with the
results of MP. Correspondence between MP and pRF mapping was quantified by calculating
the simple matching coefficient (SMC).
Results: Stimulus choice is shown to bias the spatial distribution of pRF centers and
eccentricity values with pRF sizes obtained fromwedge/ring or bar stimulation showing
systematic differences. Wedge/ring stimulation results show a higher number of pRF
centers in foveal areas and strongly reduced pRF sizes compared to bar stimulation runs.
A statistical comparison shows significantly higher pRF center numbers in the foveal
2.5 degrees region of the visual field for wedge/ring compared to bar stimuli. However,
these differences do not significantly influence SMC values when compared to MP (bar
<2.5 degrees: 0.88±0.13; bar>2.5 degrees: 0.88±0.11;wedge/ring<2.5 degrees: 0.89
± 0.12 wedge/ring; >2.5 degrees: 0.86 ± 0.10) for the peripheral visual field.
Conclusions: Both visual stimulation designs examined can be applied successfully in
patients with GA. Although the two designs show systematic differences in the distribution
of pRF center locations, this variability has minimal impact on the SMC when
compared to the MP outcome.