2020–2021 BCSC Basic and Clinical Science Course™
6 Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus
Part II: Pediatric Ophthalmology
Chapter 16: Decreased Vision in Infants and Pediatric Vision Rehabilitation
Classification of Visual Impairment in Infants and Children
The distinction between pregeniculate and cerebral visual impairment can be helpful in the context of infants who present with poor vision, although it should be recognized that some disorders cause both pregeniculate and retrogeniculate pathology. In addition, in some children, poor visual behavior normalizes over time, a phenomenon known as delayed visual maturation.
Pregeniculate Visual Impairment
Pregeniculate visual impairment results from pathology anterior to the lateral geniculate nucleus (the pregeniculate visual pathways). Causes of pregeniculate visual impairment in infants include corneal and lens opacities, glaucoma, retinal disorders, and optic nerve or optic tract abnormalities; these conditions are covered in detail elsewhere in this volume.
Excerpted from BCSC 2020-2021 series: Section 10 - Glaucoma. For more information and to purchase the entire series, please visit https://www.aao.org/bcsc.