central scotoma

Last reviewed 01/2018

Central scotoma is an area of depressed vision that corresponds with the point of fixation and interferes with central vision. It suggests a lesion between the optic nerve head and the chiasm.

Possible causes include:

• multiple sclerosis - which may cause unilateral or asymmetrical bilateral scotoma
• methyl alcohol - which may cause symmetrical bilateral scotoma
• nutritional causes - which may be due to, e.g. alcohol or tobacco amblyopia, B12 deficiency
• vascular lesions - which may cause unilateral scotoma
• gliomas of the optic nerve - this may cause unilateral scotoma
• simple glaucoma - which may initially cause an off-centre scotoma