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The ARMD Project
Driving Assessment Clinic

Visual Dysfunction & Aging:
Underlying Mechanisms

Funding Agency: National Institute on Aging of the National Institutes of Health
Project Identifier: R01-AG04212
Principal Investigator: Cynthia Owsley

Vision problems at night and under low luminance are pervasive among the elderly and are also characteristic of early age-related maculopathy (ARM), a common sight-threatening disease of the elderly. Yet little is known about the neural causes of these deficits. To address these issues, a research plan is being carried out using psychophysical and electroretinographic (ERG) techniques:

To identify mechanisms underlying scotopic dysfunction in aging and early ARM, specifically focusing on:
- Alterations in the visual cycle with respect to the dark adaptation of rods.
- Changes in the activation and deactivation of phototransduction with respect to steady state sensitivity of the rods.
To develop a health-related quality of life questionnaire addressing vision problems at night and under low luminance in aging and ARM and how it relates to the functional deficits.