This article reports on a study of the visual development of 38 infants, children, and youths who were neurologically impaired following perinatal hypoxia. All children showed impairments of one or more visual functions, indicating that perinatal hypoxia can have severe detrimental effects on visual development. However, in most patients visual development continued and visual improvements could be demonstrated up to age 16. The implications of these findings and suggestions for treatment are presented.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AtkinsonJ., and BraddickO.J. (1981). Development of optokinetic nystagmus in infants: An indicator of cortical binocularity? In FischerD.F., MontyR.A., SendersJ.W. (Eds.), Eye movements: Cognition and visual perception, (pp. 53–64). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
2.
BarnetA.B., MansonJ.I., and WilnerE. (1970). Acute cerebral blindness in childhood: Six cases studied clinically and electrophysiologically.Neurology, 20, 1147–1156.
3.
BlackP. (1982). Visual disorders associated with cerebral palsy.British Journal of Ophthalmology, 66, 46–52.
4.
CroneR.A. (1977). Amblyopia: The pathology of motor disorders in amblyopic eyes.Documenta Ophthalmologica Proceedings (Series, 11, No. 9.)
5.
CynaderM. (1983). Prolonged sensitivity to monocular deprivation in dark-reared cats: Effects of age and visual exposure.Developmental Brain Research, 8, 155–164.
6.
GivnerI. (1954). Visual loss following cardiac arrest.Archives of Ophthalmology, 51, 878–879.
7.
GroenendaalF., Van Hof-Van DuinJ., BaertsW., and FetterW.P.F. (1989). Effects of perinatal hypoxia on visual development during the first year of (corrected) age.Early Human Development, 20, 267–279.
8.
GroenendaalF., Van Hof-Van DuinJ., FetterW.P.F. (1988). Is impaired visual development caused by perinatal hypoxia.Lancet, 8623II, 1308–1309.
9.
GroenendaalF., & Van Hof-Van DuinJ. (1990). Partial visual recovery in two full-term infants after perinatal hypoxia.Neuropediatrics, 21, 76–78.
10.
HoldenK.R., MellitsE.D., and FreemanJ.M. (1982). Neonatal seizures I. Correlation of prenatal and perinatal events with outcome.Pediatrics, 70, 165–176.
11.
LambertS.R., HoytC.S., JanJ.E., BarkovichJ., FlodmarkO. (1987). Visual recovery from hypoxic cortical blindness during childhood.Archives of Ophthalmology, 105, 1371–1377.
12.
MayerD.L., and DobsonV. (1980). Assessment of vision in young children: A new operant approach yields estimates of acuity.Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 19, 566–570.
13.
McDonaldM., DobsonV., SebrisS.L., BaitchL., VarnerD., and TellerD.Y. (1985). The acuity card procedure: A rapid test of infant acuity.Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 26, 1158–1162.
14.
MohnG., & Van Hof-Van DuinJ. (1986). Development of the binocular and monocular visual fields of human infants during the first year of life.Clinical Vision Science, 1, 51–64.
15.
MohnG., Van Hof-Van DuinJ., FetterW.P.F., De Groot- BuskopL., and HageM. (1988). Acuity assessment in non-verbal infants and children: Clinical experience with the acuity card procedure.Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 30, 232–244.
16.
RonenS., NawratzkiI., YankoL. (1983). Cortical blindness in infancy: A follow-up study.Ophthalmologica, 187, 217–221.
17.
SheridanM.D., (1973). The STYCAR gradedballs vision test.Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 15, 423–432.
18.
SchorC.M., and LeviD.M. (1980). Disturbances of small-field horizontal and vertical optokinetic nystagmus in amblyopia.Investigative Ophthalmology and Visual Science, 19, 668–683.
19.
TellerD.Y., MorseR., BortonR., and RegalD. (1974). Visual acuity for vertical and diagonal gratings in human infants.Vision Research, 14, 1433–1439.
20.
Van Hof-Van DuinJ., MohnG. (1983). Optokinetic and spontaneous nystagmus in children with neurological disorders.Behavioural Brain Research, 10, 163–175.
21.
Van Hol-Van DuinJ., MohnG. (1984a). Visual defects in children after cerebral hypoxia.Behavioural Brain Research, 14, 147–155.
22.
Van Hof-Van DuinJ., and MohnG. (1984b). Vision in the preterm infant. In PrechtlH.F.R. (Ed.), Continuity of neural functions from prenatal to postnatal life. Clinics in developmental medicine, Vol. 94, pp. 93–114. Oxford: Spastics International Medical Publications.
23.
Van Hof-Van DuinJ., and MohnG. (1986a). Visual field measurements, optokinetic nystagmus and the visual threatening response: Normal and abnormal development. In JayB. (Ed.), Detection and measurement of visual impairment in pre-verbal children (Documenta Ophthalmologica proceedings, Series 45, pp. 305–316). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer.
24.
Van Hof-Van DuinJ., and MohnG. (1986b). The development of visual acuity in normal fullterm and preterm infants.Vision Research, 26, 909–916.
25.
Van Hof-Van DuinJ., and MohnG. (1987). Early detection of visual impairments. In GaljaardH., PrechtlH.F.R., VelicovicsM. (Eds.), Early detection and management of cerebral palsy (pp. 79–100.) Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Martinus Nijhoff.
26.
WeinbergerH.A., Van der WoudeR., MaierH.C. (1962). Prognosis of cortical blindness following cardiac arrest in children.Journal of the American Medical Association, 179, 126–129.
27.
YeeR.D., BalohR.W., HonrubiaV., and JenkinsH.A. (1982). Pathophysiology of optokinetic nystagmus. In Nystagmus and vertigo: Clinical approaches to the patient with dizziness (pp. 251–279). New York: Academic Press.
