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Akinetopsia

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Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology

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Synonyms

Cerebral akinetopsia; Motion blindness

Definition

An inability to perceive motion in the visual field.

Etiology

Akinetopsia is caused by a lesion in area MT/V5 of the extrastriate cortex. It can also be caused as a side effect of certain antidepressants or due to damage by stroke or Alzheimer disease.

Clinical Presentation

Patients state that their worlds are devoid of or have impaired motion perception. They are able to see stationary objects but cannot perceive moving objects. Generally the faster an object moves, the more difficult it is to see. Visuomotor tasks such as reaching for objects and catching objects may also be disturbed. These patients typically maintain normal spatial acuity, flicker detection, stereopsis, and color vision.

Diagnostics

Basic visual functions should be tested before a patient’s symptoms are ascribed to akinetopsia. An examination of visual acuity, spatial contrast sensitivity, and visual fields may be done. General intellect may be measured...

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Further Reading

  • Horton JC, Trobe JD (1999) Akinetopsia from nefazodone toxicity. Am J Ophthalmol 128(4):530–531

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zeki S (1991) Cerebral akinetopsia (visual motion blindness). A review. Brain 114(Pt 2):811–824

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ophthalmology, Blanton Eye Institute, Houston Methodist Hospital, 6560 Fannin Street, Scurlock 450, Houston, TX, 77030, USA

    Sumayya J. Almarzouqi, Michael L. Morgan & Andrew G. Lee

  2. Departments of Ophthalmology, Neurology, and Neurosurgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, Houston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  3. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Texas Medical Branch, Galveston, TX, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

  4. Department of Ophthalmology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA

    Eileen Choudhury & Andrew G. Lee

  5. Department of Ophthalmology, The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, Iowa City, IA, USA

    Andrew G. Lee

Authors
  1. Eileen Choudhury
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  2. Sumayya J. Almarzouqi
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  3. Michael L. Morgan
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  4. Andrew G. Lee
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrew G. Lee .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Medical University of Wien Dept of Ophthal & Optometry,AKH, Wien, Austria

    Ursula Schmidt-Erfurth

  2. Department of Ophthalmology, Goethe University of Frankfurt am Main Department of Ophthalmology, Frankfurt am Main, Germany

    Thomas Kohnen

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© 2015 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg (outside the USA)

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Choudhury, E., Almarzouqi, S.J., Morgan, M.L., Lee, A.G. (2015). Akinetopsia. In: Schmidt-Erfurth, U., Kohnen, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Ophthalmology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1151-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-35951-4_1151-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-35951-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference MedicineReference Module Medicine

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