New electroretinographic findings obtained in congenital forms of dyschromatopsia.

INVESTIGATIONS made by Motokawa and Mita (1942), Adrian (1945), Gastaut (1949), Johnson (1949), Schubert and Bornschein (1952), Armington (1952), Armington, Johnson, and Riggs (1952), Bornschein (1953), Burian (1954), and Auerbach and Burian (1955), and by other investigators, have revealed that-under suitable conditions of examination-the human electroretinogram (ERG) normally consists of a photopic wave a,, a scotopic wave a2, a photopic wave b, (or x), and a scotopic wave b2. Investigations made by Wirth (1951), Dodt (1951), Dodt and Wadensten (1954), Heck and Rendahl (1957), Heck (1957), and Rendahl (1958) have shown, among other things, that the bl-wave as such is a complex wave, and that the normal human electroretinogram also comprises other visible components, such as the c-wave, and several off-effects. Absence of the b1-wave in cases of complete achromatopsia has been described by Vukovich (1952), Yonemura and Ishizaka (1952), Dodt (1954), Wadensten (1954, 1956), Goodman and Iser (1956), Iser and Goodman (1956), Bornschein, Goodman, and Gunkel (1957), Heck and Rendahl (1957), Elenius and Heck (1957, 1958) and Schappert-Kimmijser (1958). Armington (1952) and Schubert and Bornschein (1952) have shown that the ERG is virtually normal in deuteranopia and tritanopia, whereas in protanopia it is difficult to demonstrate the bl-wave. Heck and Rendahl (1957) and Rendahl (1958) have demonstrated, among other things, that the b1-wave shows changes, not only in protanopia but also in deuteranomaly and deuteranopia.