How Your Eyes May Be a Marker for Bipolar Disorder

According to a study inBiological Psychiatry,a specialized eye exam may help determine whether a child is at a higher than normal risk of developing a psychiatric disorder likebipolar disorderorschizophrenia.

Eye Exam as a Predictor of Risk for Bipolar Disorder

In this small study, a test called an electroretinography (ERG) was used to examine the retina and how well it functions. The retina is part of the central nervous system and is located at the back of the eye. It contains two types of light sensory: rods and cones.

Rods see black and white and are important for sight in low light conditions and for peripheral vision. Cones, on the other hand, see color. Electroretinography provides a measurement of the rods and cones in the retina.

Although researchers already knew that retinal abnormalities were detected in people diagnosed with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia, the effects of the illness and the medication used to treat it made those findings not usable for research purposes.

This is why, in this study, researchers examined the retinas of healthy young adults (average age was 20) who were at a high genetic risk for developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, due to having one parent with either bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. The retina exams of these healthy offspring were then compared with a control group whose families did not have a history of those illnesses.

Results revealed that in the high genetic risk group, the ability of light to activate the rods was significantly reduced, as compared to the control group. This result remained significant even when the investigators of the study controlled for age, gender, and the season of testing. There was no difference in the cones' responses between the two groups.

What Do These Results Mean?

It suggests that the response of the retina’s rods may serve as an early biomarker of risk for developing bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. This knowledge may be helpful in future genetic testing and prevention research.

That being said, the authors of the study note that coming up with a precise explanation for why there was a rod function reduction in the high genetic risk offspring is difficult. Based on prior animal studies, they suggest a potential abnormality in the production or receptor sensitivity of certain brain chemicals (calledneurotransmitters) like dopamine or serotonin.

Finally, you may wonder whether a diminished response of the rods leads to actual perceptual problems in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia? It’s possible, as people with these psychiatric illnesses may have a slight but significant problem with how they perceive the world. This may contribute to their functional impairment.

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6 SourcesVerywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hébert M, Gagné AM, Paradis ME, et al.Retinal response to light in young nonaffected offspring at high genetic risk of neuropsychiatric brain disorders.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(3):270–274. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.08.016Adams SA, Nasrallah HA.Multiple retinal anomalies in schizophrenia.Schizophr Res. 2018;195:3–12. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.018Gracitelli CP, Abe RY, Diniz-Filho A, Vaz-de-Lima FB, Paranhos A Jr, Medeiros FA.Ophthalmology issues in schizophrenia.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17(5):28. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0569-xOwen MJ, O’Donovan MC, Thapar A, Craddock N.Neurodevelopmetal hypothesis of schizophrenia.Br J Psychiatry. 2011;198(3):173-175. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.084384King DJ, Hodgekins J, Chouinard PA, Chouinard VA, Sperandio I.A review of abnormalities in the perception of visual illusions in schizophrenia.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(3):734–751. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1168-5Lavoie J, Maziade M, Hébert M.The brain through the retina: the flash electroretinogram as a tool to investigate psychiatric disorders.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014;48:129–134. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.09.020Additional ReadingSchwitzer T, Lavoie J, Giersch A, Schwan R, Laprevote V. The Emerging Field of Retinal Electrophysiological Measurements in Psychiatric Research: A Review of the Findings and the Perspectives in Major Depressive Disorder.J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Nov;70:113-20.

6 Sources

Verywell Mind uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Hébert M, Gagné AM, Paradis ME, et al.Retinal response to light in young nonaffected offspring at high genetic risk of neuropsychiatric brain disorders.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(3):270–274. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.08.016Adams SA, Nasrallah HA.Multiple retinal anomalies in schizophrenia.Schizophr Res. 2018;195:3–12. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.018Gracitelli CP, Abe RY, Diniz-Filho A, Vaz-de-Lima FB, Paranhos A Jr, Medeiros FA.Ophthalmology issues in schizophrenia.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17(5):28. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0569-xOwen MJ, O’Donovan MC, Thapar A, Craddock N.Neurodevelopmetal hypothesis of schizophrenia.Br J Psychiatry. 2011;198(3):173-175. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.084384King DJ, Hodgekins J, Chouinard PA, Chouinard VA, Sperandio I.A review of abnormalities in the perception of visual illusions in schizophrenia.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(3):734–751. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1168-5Lavoie J, Maziade M, Hébert M.The brain through the retina: the flash electroretinogram as a tool to investigate psychiatric disorders.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014;48:129–134. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.09.020Additional ReadingSchwitzer T, Lavoie J, Giersch A, Schwan R, Laprevote V. The Emerging Field of Retinal Electrophysiological Measurements in Psychiatric Research: A Review of the Findings and the Perspectives in Major Depressive Disorder.J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Nov;70:113-20.

Hébert M, Gagné AM, Paradis ME, et al.Retinal response to light in young nonaffected offspring at high genetic risk of neuropsychiatric brain disorders.Biol Psychiatry. 2010;67(3):270–274. doi:10.1016/j.biopsych.2009.08.016Adams SA, Nasrallah HA.Multiple retinal anomalies in schizophrenia.Schizophr Res. 2018;195:3–12. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.018Gracitelli CP, Abe RY, Diniz-Filho A, Vaz-de-Lima FB, Paranhos A Jr, Medeiros FA.Ophthalmology issues in schizophrenia.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17(5):28. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0569-xOwen MJ, O’Donovan MC, Thapar A, Craddock N.Neurodevelopmetal hypothesis of schizophrenia.Br J Psychiatry. 2011;198(3):173-175. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.084384King DJ, Hodgekins J, Chouinard PA, Chouinard VA, Sperandio I.A review of abnormalities in the perception of visual illusions in schizophrenia.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(3):734–751. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1168-5Lavoie J, Maziade M, Hébert M.The brain through the retina: the flash electroretinogram as a tool to investigate psychiatric disorders.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014;48:129–134. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.09.020

Adams SA, Nasrallah HA.Multiple retinal anomalies in schizophrenia.Schizophr Res. 2018;195:3–12. doi:10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.018

Gracitelli CP, Abe RY, Diniz-Filho A, Vaz-de-Lima FB, Paranhos A Jr, Medeiros FA.Ophthalmology issues in schizophrenia.Curr Psychiatry Rep. 2015;17(5):28. doi:10.1007/s11920-015-0569-x

Owen MJ, O’Donovan MC, Thapar A, Craddock N.Neurodevelopmetal hypothesis of schizophrenia.Br J Psychiatry. 2011;198(3):173-175. doi:10.1192/bjp.bp.110.084384

King DJ, Hodgekins J, Chouinard PA, Chouinard VA, Sperandio I.A review of abnormalities in the perception of visual illusions in schizophrenia.Psychon Bull Rev. 2017;24(3):734–751. doi:10.3758/s13423-016-1168-5

Lavoie J, Maziade M, Hébert M.The brain through the retina: the flash electroretinogram as a tool to investigate psychiatric disorders.Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry. 2014;48:129–134. doi:10.1016/j.pnpbp.2013.09.020

Schwitzer T, Lavoie J, Giersch A, Schwan R, Laprevote V. The Emerging Field of Retinal Electrophysiological Measurements in Psychiatric Research: A Review of the Findings and the Perspectives in Major Depressive Disorder.J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Nov;70:113-20.

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Eye Exam as a Predictor of Risk for Bipolar Disorder#

What Do These Results Mean?#

A Word From Verywell#

Eye Exam as a Predictor of Risk for Bipolar Disorder

What Do These Results Mean?

A Word From Verywell