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Effects of flickering light stimulation on retinal blood flow and full-field electroretinogram in mice

Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: Purpose To investigate the effects of brief flickering light stimulation (FLS) on retinal electrophysiology and retinal blood flow (RBF) in normal C57BL6J mice. Methods RBF and full-field electroretinography (ffERG) were measured before and after a 60 second FLS (12 Hz, 0.1 cd·s/m 2 ) in a cohort of 8-12-weeks old C57BL6J mice ( n =10) under anaesthetic and light-adapted conditions. A separate set of age-matched mice ( n =9) underwent RBF and ffERG measurements before and after steady light stimulation (SLS) at 1 cd/m 2 under similar conditions. The changes in RBF (arterial and venous flow) as well as the amplitudes and implicit times of the a-wave, b-wave, oscillatory potentials (OPs), and photopic negative response (PhNR) were analyzed. Results FLS significantly increased both arterial ( p =0.003) and venous ( p =0.018) blood flow as well as b-wave amplitudes ( p =0.017) compared to SLS, which did not have any significant changes in either RBF or ERG. However, no significant differences were found in other ffERG responses (amplitudes and implicit times of a-wave, OPs, and PhNR, as well as b-wave implicit time) between the two groups after light stimulation. An increase in b-wave amplitude was positively associated with an increase in both arterial (r=0.655, p =0.040) and venous blood flow (r=0.638, p =0.047) in the FLS group. Conclusions Our results suggest that transient FLS not only increases RBF but also enhances electro-retinal responses of the middle retinal layer, as shown by ffERG, thus demonstrating its substantial effects on both the vascular and neuronal components of retinal neurovascular coupling in mice.
DOI: 10.1007/s10633-025-10049-8
Language: English
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,090
OpenAlex ID: W4414523789
FWCI: 0.522
Cites: 31
Cited by: 2
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