In-Depth Functional Diagnostics of Mouse Models by Single-Flash and Flicker Electroretinograms without Adapting Background Illumination.

Electroretinograms (ERGs) are commonly recorded at the cornea for an assessment of the functional status of the retina in mouse models. Full-field ERGs can be elicited by single-flash as well as flicker light stimulation although in most laboratories flicker ERGs are recorded much less frequently than singleflash ERGs. Whereas conventional single-flash ERGs contain information about layers, i.e., outer and inner retina, flicker ERGs permit functional assessment of the vertical pathways of the retina, i.e., rod system, cone ON-pathway, and cone OFF-pathway, when the responses are evoked at a relatively high luminance (0.5 log cd s/m(2)) with varying frequency (from 0.5 to 30 Hz) without any adapting background illumination. Therefore, both types of ERGs complement an in-depth functional characterization of the mouse retina, allowing for a discrimination of an underlying functional pathology. Here, we introduce the systematic interpretation of the single-flash and flicker ERGs by demonstrating several different patterns of functional phenotype in genetic mouse models, in which photoreceptors and/or bipolar cells are primarily or secondarily affected.