title: The role of the retina in visual hallucinations: A review of the literature and implications for psychosis.
abstract: Visual hallucinations are a psychotic symptom present in numerous clinical conditions such as eye disease, Parkinsonian syndromes, neurodegenerative disorders and psychosis. Alteration of low level visual processing is a common feature in these clinical conditions, and various stages of processing from the retina to visual cortices are involved. We undertook a literature review of abnormalities of the retina and their potential link with the occurrence of VHs in these clinical conditions of interest. We found that structural and functional abnormalities of the retina are frequently present. In Parkinson disease and eye disease, VHs have been related to dysfunctions of the retina. By contrast, in neurodegenerative disorders and psychosis, possible links have yet not been explored. We show that structural or functional abnormalities of the retina are given little consideration in cognitive models of VHs, which primarily postulate an alteration of sensory visual processing and a top-down attentional process. We conclude that contrast sensitivity measures and an exhaustive exploration of the retinal functions using the clinical electroretinography standards of the International Society for the Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) are needed to explore retinal involvement in the occurrence of visual hallucinations.
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France; EA7298, INGRES, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France. Electronic address: florent.bernardin@cpn-laxou.com.
authors.forename: Florent
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Bernardin
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France; EA7298, INGRES, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France; Maison des Addictions, CHRU Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Raymund
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Schwan
authors.affiliation: INSERM U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Département de Psychiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France; Département de psychiatrie et d'addictologie, Hôpitaux Universitaires de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Laurence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Lalanne
authors.affiliation: Université de Lorraine, EA 4360, APEMAC, Nancy, France; Hôpital d'enfants, Service de Psychiatrie pour enfants et adolescents, CHRU Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Fabienne
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Ligier
authors.affiliation: Service d'Ophtalmologie, CHRU Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Karine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Angioi-Duprez
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France; EA7298, INGRES, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France; INSERM U1114, Fédération de Médecine Translationnelle de Strasbourg, Département de Psychiatrie, Centre Hospitalier Régional Universitaire de Strasbourg, Strasbourg, France.
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schwitzer
authors.affiliation: Pôle Hospitalo-Universitaire de Psychiatrie d'Adultes du Grand Nancy, Centre Psychothérapique de Nancy, Laxou, France; EA7298, INGRES, Université de Lorraine, Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy, France; Maison des Addictions, CHRU Nancy, Nancy, France.
authors.forename: Vincent
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Laprevote
mesh_terms: D006212:Hallucinations / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D011618:Psychotic Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology; D012160:Retina / Q000503:physiopathology*
keywords: Electroretinogram; Optical coherence tomography; Parkinson disease; Retina; Schizophrenia; Visual hallucinations