Scotoma
Scotoma - Related Videos
06:03
Motion-induced Blindness
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Jonathan Flombaum—Johns Hopkins University One thing becomes very salient after basic exposure to the science of visual perception and sensation: what people see is a creation of the brain. As a result people may fail to see things, see things that are not there, or see things in a distorted way. To distinguish between physical reality and what people perceive, scientists use the term awareness to refer to what people perceive. To study awareness, vision scientists often...
07:12
A Gaze-Contingent Display Framework for Perceptual Learning Research with Simulated Central Vision Loss
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Cited by 1 •
2025
We present development of a gaze-contingent display framework designed for perceptual and oculomotor research simulating central vision loss. This framework is particularly adaptable for studying compensatory behavioral and oculomotor strategies in individuals experiencing both simulated and pathological central vision loss.
16:49
Multifocal Electroretinograms
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Cited by 7 •
2011
The development of the multifocal electroretinogram (mfERG) is an important advance in the diagnosis and characterization of retinopathy. Multifocal electroretinograms are a mathematical average of an approximation of a b-wave. Software programs can derive ERGs from more than a hundred retinal areas in a few minutes per eye. Scotomas and retinal dysfunction can be mapped and quantified.
10:45
Finding Your Blind Spot and Perceptual Filling-in
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2023
Source: Laboratory of Jonathan Flombaum—Johns Hopkins University In the back of everyone's eye is a small piece of neural tissue called the retina. The retina has photosensitive cells that respond to stimulation by light. The responses of these cells are sent into the brain through the optic nerve, a bundle of neural fibers. In each retina there is a place somewhere in the periphery where the outputs from retinal cells collect and the bundled optic nerve exits to the brain. At that location,...
FAQs
A scotoma may arise when signals from a localized retinal region, the optic nerve, or another part of the visual pathway fail to reach the brain normally. It can also reflect a failure to interpret those signals. Identifying the affected stage helps distinguish a problem with signal transmission from one involving visual processing.
Persistence provides an important context for interpreting a visual-field change. Some scotomas remain present, whereas others occur temporarily during migraine aura. Comparing the timing and stability of the disturbance can help researchers and clinicians relate the visual experience to different underlying conditions without treating every missing area as the same phenomenon.
The brain may fill in information that is absent from part of the visual field, allowing perception to seem more continuous than the incoming signals alone would predict. Studying this response helps psychologists separate sensory loss from perceptual interpretation and examine how visual experience is constructed from incomplete information.
Clinical visual-field testing is used to chart where vision is reduced, altered, or absent across the field. The resulting map can show the location and extent of a defect rather than relying only on a person's description. This information supports assessment of retinal, neurological, or cognitive disorders associated with visual-field changes.
A mapped pattern provides evidence about how a visual disturbance relates to the visual system. Because scotomas can involve the retina, optic nerve, visual pathway, or interpretation of signals, the pattern helps organize further assessment across retinal, neurological, and cognitive possibilities. It does not by itself establish a single cause.
Scotomas offer a way to study the relationship between sensory input and conscious perception. When part of the visual signal is unavailable, researchers can examine whether experience reflects the missing input or the brain's interpretation and filling in of gaps. This makes scotomas useful for investigating visual perception and neurological function.