Increased scatter of responses as a precursor of visual field changes in glaucoma.

A patient with ocular hypertension developed a glaucomatous field defect in the right eye 10 years after the initial examination. For several years preceding the appearance of the defect there had been scatter of threshold responses localized to the area where the defect was later found. We suggest that localized scatter may be an early sign of glaucomatous damage to visual function.