What Is a Preferred Retinal Locus?

Abstract

This review examines the concept of the preferred retinal locus (PRL) in patients with macular diseases. Considering monocular and binocular viewing, we (a) explain how to identify the PRL and discuss the pitfalls associated with its measurement, (b) review the current hypotheses for PRL development, (c) assess whether the PRL is the new reference point of the ocular motor system, and discuss (d) the functional and (e) the clinical implications of the PRL. We conclude that the current definition of the PRL is probably incomplete and should incorporate the need to evaluate the PRL in the framework of binocular viewing. We emphasize the need for more research.

Keywords: PRL; binocular viewing; central vision loss; fixation stability; macular degeneration; preferred retinal locus.