Possibilities of spatial discriminative perimetry in the diagnosis of partial atrophy of the optic nerve

A method for investigating spatial discriminative sensitivity at a site of 20 degrees from the point of fixation is proposed for studies of changes in the ocular system at early stages of partial optic nerve atrophy. Normal values of distribution were determined on 20 volunteers. The main group consisted of 8 patients with initial glaucoma. Manifest changes in spatial discriminative sensitivity, correlating with changes in the central visual field, were detected in all patients with glaucoma. This method represents a variant of analysis of the resolving capacity of optic analyzer, allowing detection of its early changes.