Visual field defects in cats with neonatal or adult immunological loss of retinal ganglion cells.

Behavioral perimetry methods were used to assess the monocular visual fields of 12 cats that had received intraocular injections of antibodies against large (alpha/Y) retinal ganglion cells. The antibodies produced defects in head and eye orientation responses to stimuli presented in the nasal visual field of the treated eye; responses to stimuli in the temporal visual hemifield were normal. Similar results were seen in cats that received antibody injections at 4 weeks of age or as adults. In the context of previous results, these findings suggest that a loss of Y cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus is sufficient to reduce geniculocortical function for head and eye orientation to visual stimuli in the nasal visual field.