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Abstract
The electroretinogram (ERG) was studied with flash stimulation in 16 children who, at young ages, suffered from monocular and binocular visual deprivation. No significant difference was found between the b-wave amplitudes of normal and of deprived eyes (0.4 > p > 0.2). The slight increase in the retinal response (b-wave) seen after cataract removal is due to changes in the optical properties of the eye and not as a result of neural changes in the retina. No direct relationship was found between changes in the level of visual acuity and the level of responsiveness expressed by the amplitude and the latency of the ERG. In addition, wave-form complexity was the same in the normal and in the visually deprived eyes. That the visual acuity level was sharply decreased in all subjects, despite the abovementioned findings in the ERG, indicates that the site of the deprivation effect in humans is higher up in the visual system.