Quantification of ischemic damage in the rat retina: a comparative study using evoked potentials, electroretinography, and histology.

Purpose: To identify objective criteria to quantify visual function in the rat for developing therapeutic strategies to protect neuronal cells after ischemia. The impact of ocular ischemia on luminance and frequency-modulated contrast vision was compared with the function of outer retinal cells and the number of intact retinal ganglion cells (RGCs).

Method: Ischemia was induced in Brown-Norway rats by elevating the intraocular pressure to 120 mm Hg for 30, 45, 60, and 90 minutes.