What Is Optic Atrophy?

What is optic nerve atrophy?

The optic nerve is made of over one million nerve fibers that send light signals from the retina to the brain. Optic nerve atrophy is the death of a portion of these fibers, leading to blurry or dim vision, side vision loss and altered color vision. Causes include injury, inflammation and pressure.

The retina is the light sensitive tissue at the back of the eye. It is made of many layers of nerve cells. Photoreceptor cells are cells in the retina that convert light into electrical signals.  

Electrical signals are sent from photoreceptor cells to retinal ganglion cells, the nerve cells that relay these signals to the brain. This is done via thin, long fibers, called axons, that extend from the retinal ganglion cells and eventually come together in a bundle to help form the optic nerve. 

This nerve is also known as Cranial Nerve II. It leaves the retina and travels to a part of the brain called the occipital lobe, where vision is processed. The optic nerve can be seen in the center of the retina as a pinkish circle about 1.5 mm in diameter. 

What are symptoms of optic nerve atrophy?

Vision loss can range in severity and type. Damage to the optic nerve can affect central vision, side vision and color vision.

When the ability of the optic nerve to transfer signals to the brain is interrupted, an individual may experience the following:

In children, it may cause uncontrolled up and down or side to side eye movements called nystagmus. 

If any of these symptoms are noticed, it is critical to contact an eye doctor.