Effect of Hypoxia on the Corneoretinal Potential in Man

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Abstract
We measured the effect of altered blood gases induced by breathing high and low oxygen-containing gases in man. The corneoretinal potential was recorded in 15 subjects during isocapnic hypoxia, hypocapnia and hyperoxia. Studies were first conducted in conditions of constant ambient luminance and later during repeated dark and light phases. Isocapnic hypoxia of a degree sufficient to induce arterial oxygen desaturation, reduced the dark trough by a mean ± SD of 49.8 ± 47.6 μV (p < 0.025) with a similar, but less consistent reduction in the light peak (mean = 78.5, SD = 80.8 μV; p < 0.05). By contrast, hyperoxia (PO2 = 600 mm Hg) and hypocapnia (20–25 mm Hg) under conditions of normal oxygenation had no systematic influence on corneoretinal potential. We conclude that isocapnic hypoxia reduces the capacity of the corneoretinal potential to respond normally to dark and light stimuli but that these responses do not offer a clinically feasible means for noninvasive monitoring of cerebral oxygen delivery.

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