16.02.2021

New open access publication

In the publication "Effects of Ocular Direct Electrical Stimulation on Full Field Electroretinogram" we investigated the effects of an ocular direct current stimulation on the characteristic amplitudes and latencies of the full field electroretinogram (ERG). The ERG from 15 subjects was evaluated before (ERG 1) and during (ERG 2) an ocular direct current stimulation with 800 µA over 5 min. The subjects were stimulated in three independent sessions, each with a different current application (randomized order): cathodal polarity, anodal polarity (referred to the electrode around the eye), or sham stimulation. Comparing before to during the current stimulation for all applications, the characteristic ERG waves showed no effects on amplitudes or latencies (α = 0.05). Furthermore, no significant difference between the cathodal, anodal, and sham stimulation could be found. This leads to the conclusion that the electrophysiological activity of retinal photoreceptors and bipolar cells could not be influenced by the current stimulation setup.  Furthermore, it strengthens the hypothesis that an effect on patter-reversal electroretinogram found in a previous study is due to the influence of ganglion cells.

Blum, M.-C., Solf, B., Hunold, A., Klee, S.:
Effects of Ocular Direct Electrical Stimulation on Full Field Electroretinogram. Front. Neurosci. 15:606557 (2021)

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fnins.2021.606557

Contact:    M. Sc. Maren-Christina Blum
                 Jun.-Prof. Dr.-Ing. Sascha Klee

Grand mean signals for every stimulation group (i.e., cathodal polarity, anodal polarity, and sham stimulation; n = 15 for each curve) for the different ERG measurements