Age-related changes of the normal visual field.

We prospectively studied the age-related changes of the visual fields obtained from a selected group of 25 normal patients. The OCTOPUS automated perimeter was used to test both eyes of each patient using Program 32. We calculated the mean threshold sensitivity, volume, and surface area of the visual field and measured a linear decline with age for all three characteristics. The age-related decline in threshold sensitivity and the SE of this decline increased with eccentricity from fixation. Sensitivity declined approximately twice as rapidly at 30 degrees eccentricity as it did at fixation. The general decline in sensitivity of the visual field and the increased rate of decline with eccentricity may be related to a functional or anatomic loss of photoreceptors, ganglion cells, and higher structures.