Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 28 (2016) 123–127

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Journal of Clinical Neuroscience

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Clinical Study

Visual snow: A thalamocortical dysrhythmia of the visual pathway?

Jenny L. Lauschke a,b, Gordon T. Plant c, Clare L. Fraser a,⇑
a
Save Sight Institute, University of Sydney, 8 Macquarie Street, Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
b
Department of Ophthalmology, Prince of Wales Hospital, High Street, Randwick, NSW, Australia
c
Department of Neuro-Ophthalmology, Moorfields Eye Hospital, London, United Kingdom

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: In this paper we review the visual snow (VS) characteristics of a case cohort of 32 patients. History of
Received 8 October 2015 symptoms and associated co-morbidities, ophthalmic examination, previous investigations and the
Accepted 2 December 2015 results of intuitive colourimetry were collected and reviewed. VS symptoms follow a stereotypical
description and are strongly associated with palinopsia, migraine and tinnitus, but also tremor. The
condition is a chronic one and often results in misdiagnosis with psychiatric disorders or malingering.
Keywords: Colour filters, particularly in the yellow-blue colour spectrum, subjectively reduced symptoms of VS.
Colour filter
There is neurobiological evidence for the syndrome of VS that links it with other disorders of visual
Migraine
Palinopsia
and sensory processing such as migraine and tinnitus. Colour filters in the blue-yellow spectrum may
Positive persistent visual disturbance alter the koniocellular pathway processing, which has a regulatory effect on background electroen-
Thalamocortical dysrhythmia cephalographic rhythms, and may add weight to the hypothesis that VS is a thalamocortical dysrhythmia
Visual snow of the visual pathway.
Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction an increase in sensitivity of sensory perception [1–3]. However as

distinct from the presumed cortical spreading depression theory in
Visual snow (VS) refers to the persistent visual experience of migraine, VS patients are thought to have differences in regional
flickering fine achromatic dots or static in the whole visual field metabolism resulting in modulation of neuronal sensitivity and
of both eyes likened to ‘‘static analogue television noise” [1]. A excitability [3].
recent series of publications highlight the very similar subjective VS patients frequently report persistence of symptoms at all
stereotypical descriptions between patients of this frequently dis- times including when the eyes are closed and with few patients
tressing phenomenon [2,3]. The symptom frequently occurs with reporting relief of intensity of snow symptoms in bright light [1–3].
other visual symptoms such as photopsia, nyctalopia, palinopsia We noticed however that some patients report relief of symp-
(the persistence of previously viewed stimuli) and entoptic phe- toms from tinted lenses. Intuitive colourimetry, the assessment
nomena, as well as other disorders of sensory perception such as of optimum tint, has been used in the past to alleviate symptoms
migraine with or without aura, tinnitus and tremor [1,4]. of perceptual disorders and visual stress reported by patients with
VS can be associated with stress, depression and previous illicit dyslexia, migraine or photosensitive epilepsy [5,6]. When offered
drug use, though no clear causative agent has been identified [3]. to VS patients we identified a pattern of symptom relief from these
This results in patients with these symptoms often being misdiag- coloured filters, particularly those in the yellow-blue spectrum.
nosed as having migraine with aura, hallucinogen persisting per- In this paper we present a review of our patients with VS symp-
ception disorder (HPPD) or malingering. As a consequence toms to whom we offered the option of undergoing intuitive
treatments are often inappropriate, ineffective or absent. colourimetry, review the previous hypotheses of VS and propose
Recently Schankin et al. suggested that VS is a unique clinical a new hypothesis – that VS is an imbalance of koniocellular and
syndrome, distinct from migraine with aura, and recommended magnocellular pathway function creating a thalamocortical dys-
set diagnostic criteria to help identify VS patients [3]. The overlap- rhythmia that results in a disorder of visual processing.
ping symptomatology and therefore potentially pathophysiology
between migraineurs and VS patients cannot be dismissed. Indeed, 2. Subjects and methods
migraine, tinnitus, photopsia and palinopsia all appear to relate to
Data was collected from 32 VS patients presenting to tertiary
⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +61 2 9382 7300; fax: +61 2 9382 7395. referral neuro-ophthalmology services in Sydney, NSW between
E-mail address: [email protected] (C.L. Fraser). 2012 and 2014. Patients underwent a standardised series of

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jocn.2015.12.001
0967-5868/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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124 J.L. Lauschke et al. / Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 28 (2016) 123–127

questions about their visual symptoms and associated non-visual Table 1

symptoms. The associated medical and psychiatric co-morbidities History, examination and colourimetry findings of the case cohort with visual snow

were noted from past medical records. Ophthalmic and Patients

neurological examination was performed by a consultant neuro- Visual symptoms
ophthalmologist. Previous ancillary investigations were collected Fine static visual snow 100%
and reviewed. Patients were also asked to list any past treatments Classic black-and-white (achromatic) static 91%
given for their VS, and the outcomes. All patients were offered palinopsia 69%
photopsia 41%
the opportunity to undergo intuitive colourimetry testing with the
protocol previously employed for dyslexia. In that technique the Duration of symptoms >1 year 84%
Alleviated by brightness 22%
three parameters of colour, namely hue, saturation and brightness, Aggravating factor identified (high contrast, computer screens, 65%
were independently changed while the eyes were colour adapted sleep deprivation, stress)
to find the final colour tone that suited the individual best and Non-visual symptoms
minimised symptoms. Tinnitus 63%
Migraine 47%
Tremor 22%
Balance problems 19%
3. Results
Co-existing diagnoses
Anxiety 44%
The cohort consisted of 22 males and 10 females with ages
Depression 19%
ranging from 16 to 55 years old (mean age of 29 ± standard devia- Other psychiatric diagnosis (OCD, ADHD, PTSD, personality 16%
tion of 10 years). Average symptom duration was 3 years with disorder)
three patients reporting symptoms since early childhood. A sum- Recreational illicit drug use 3%
mary of the findings can be seen in Table 1. The classic stereotyp- Smoking/alcohol use 9%

ical description of the VS as fine, predominantly black and white Family history
static was reported in 91% of patients. The others reported fine Family members with visual snow 1
patient
chromatic static. Most patients experienced associated forms of Family members with genetic eye disease 2 pts
palinopsia such as persistent after-images and trails behind mov- Family members with migraine 3pts
ing objects. Other symptoms included disturbances of peripheral Patient demographics
vision, shimmering of static objects, stars bursts and coloured Male 69%
blobs. The majority of patients experienced more than one of these Ophthalmic Examination
visual phenomena in addition to the classic VS. Altering the Visual acuity 6/6 or better 100%
ambient light was the most common way patients alleviated the Normal colour vision 100%
symptoms (35%), however, 57% of patients were unable to identify Normal visual fields 100%
Refractive error ( 1 to 4D) 19%
any alleviating factors. An aggravating factor could be identified in
Normal anterior and posterior segment 100%
the majority of patients (65%), included high contrast text on a
Frequency of ancillary investigations*
computer screen, darkness, exhaustion and stress.
Electrophysiology (ERG, VEP) 50%
Associated non-visual symptoms included high-pitched Blood tests 81%
tinnitus (63%), migraine with or without aura (44%), as well as MRI of the brain 88%
tremor (22%) and balance problems (19%). Colourimetry
Most patients had a previous diagnosis of mental illness includ- Improvement of symptoms using colour filter 92%
ing anxiety (44%) and depression (19%) as well as other psychiatric Yellow-blue spectrum 83%
diagnoses (16%) such as post-traumatic stress disorder, obsessive *
All were normal.
compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and ADHD = attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, ERG = electroretinogram,
personality disorder. None of the patients had any diagnosed neu- OCD = obsessive compulsive disorder, PTSD = post-traumatic stress disorder,
rological disease. VEP = visual evoked potentials.

Only one patient reported illicit marijuana use, none admitted

to lysergic acid diethylamide or other hallucinogen use, and 9% the classic VS. The test was repeated to ensure that the colour pref-
admitted to social smoking. erence was reproducible. The chosen colour spectrum that pro-
One patient reported a family member with VS. A family history vided relief of symptoms was in the yellow-blue colour spectrum
of genetic eye diseases and migraine were present in two and three for the majority of patients (83%).
patients, respectively.
Ophthalmic examination was normal in all patients with vision 4. Discussion
6/6 or better, normal colour, normal automated visual fields, and
normal slit-lamp examination. Minor refractive error was found Our results suggest that VS may be classified as a disorder of
in 19%. A large proportion of patients had undergone previous central colour-dependant processing and that it does occur as a
ancillary testing including MRI of the brain (88%), blood tests syndrome associated with other disorders of sensory processing
(81%) and electrophysiology (electroretinography and visually- such as tinnitus, tremor and migraine [1,4].
evoked potentials, 50%), all of which were within normal limits. VS has previously been classified as a syndrome [7] and a set of
Previous treatment with psychiatric medications as well as cogni- diagnostic criteria were recently proposed in an effort to capture
tive behavioural therapy had been tried in 39% of patients, but the syndromic nature of this condition [3]. According to these cri-
either made no difference or in some cases actually worsened teria VS syndrome can be diagnosed when a patient presents with
the symptoms. Many patients also found side effects of medication black-and-white static with at least one associated symptom of
troublesome. palinopsia, photopsia, nyctalopia or entoptic phenomena, exclud-
Of all patients, 12 participated in an intuitive colourimetry test. ing those who have a history consistent with migraine with aura
Ninety-two percent of patients felt that symptoms improved dur- or that occur as a result of drug abuse.
ing the testing with a particular coloured filter. No improvement According to this classification 29 of our 32 patients fulfilled the
was noted in a patient with chromatic (purple) static rather than proposed diagnostic criteria (91%). The remaining three reported

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 J.L. Lauschke et al. / Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 28 (2016) 123–127 125

chromatic static (multicoloured or red-purple tones) with at least left and right retina, that is, beyond the lateral geniculate nucleus.
one other feature of photopsia or palinopsia. This is in contrast to entoptic phenomena, though interestingly
As previously described, the cohort reports a chronic phe- the incidence of entoptic phenomena is much higher in VS patients
nomenon lasting years, or in four patients, since childhood, with with a reported prevalence of up to 79% in previous cohorts [3,8]. In
symptoms occurring mainly in the second to fourth decade of life a recent review which attempted to classify palinopsia, it was iden-
[2,3]. Our cohort was predominantly male (69%) which is different tified that illusory palinopsia, the preservation of previous visual
to the previously reported female predominance [2] or sex neutral- information, is strongly associated with VS as compared to hallu-
ity [3,8] and may thus support the notion that this condition is not cinogenic palinopsia [1]. The types of palinopsias are indicative of
affected by sex. dysfunction of visual perception, as compared to visual memory.
Most of the patients report that VS is aggravated by high con- A perceptual disturbance may also explain why VS symptoms are
trast visual stimuli (such as computer screens) and relieved by affected by background illumination, contrast and level of retinal
brightness, as previously described [3]. Palinopsia are a frequent and cortical adaptation.
associated symptom [2,3,8], and occurred in 69% of patients in this The most likely underlying neurobiological mechanism sug-
case series and were predominantly persistent after-images, light gested is that of an increase of neuronal excitability [15] resulting
streaks, trails as well as a ‘‘shimmer”, all of which are categorised in visual pathway hypersensitivity leading to perception of nor-
as illusionary palinopsia. Gersztenkorn et al. previously reported mally sub-threshold stimuli [1]. Visual cortex hyperexcitability
both illusionary and hallucinatory palinopsia to be a feature of was previously noted in patients with migraines and aura [16].
VS, which is not supported by this study [3]. This distinction may Hypersensitivity has also been theorised to play a role in patho-
well help distinguish VS from HPPD, a frequent misdiagnosis. physiology of palinopsia, one of the main associated symptoms
When reviewing associated non-visual symptoms we also of the VS syndrome [1] and in associated diseases such as migraine
noted a very high prevalence of migraine (with and without aura; and tinnitus [9].
47%) which was reported with a prevalence of 60% and 30% in pre- It is thought that in migrainous brains the hypothalamic and
vious reports [3,8]. One additional patient reported a headache that brainstem neurons that are responsible for regulation of responses
did not fit the International Classification of Headache Disorders revi- that deviate from physiological and emotional homeostasis can
sion II criteria for migraine. It has previously been argued that the lower the threshold for transmission of nociceptive trigeminal vas-
high prevalence of migraine (versus non-migrainous headaches) in cular signals from the thalamus to the cortex [12]. This may also
VS patients suggests an overlapping pathophysiology between the explain other associated features such as autonomic symptoms
two conditions [2,3,8]. (nausea), affective symptoms (irritability and depression) and cog-
Additionally we also found a very high percentage of associated nitive symptoms (attention deficit), some of which have previously
tinnitus (63%). This is consistent with previous reports [2,3] and been described in associated with VS [3]. In the context of migrain-
makes tinnitus and migraine the most prevalent associated non- ous increase in sensitivity to noise and light it has been previously
visual symptoms. Tinnitus has previously been strongly linked to shown that local application of noradrenaline to the locus coeru-
migraines and both are thought to represent symptoms of a hyper- leus, a centre involved in sensory processing, facilitates cortical
sensitivity/sensory allodynia spectrum of cortical dysfunction neuronal responsiveness by increasing the signal-to-noise ratio of
[9,10]. We also noted fine tremor (22%) and balance problems cortical input and therefore preventing adaptation to trains of
(19%). These have not been reported in association with VS to action potentials. It furthermore alters the thalamic noradrenalin
our knowledge, though a higher incidence of essential tremor has discharge thus decreasing the likelihood of accurate transfer of
previously been reported in patients with migraine [11,12]. spike trains to the cerebral cortex [10]. This explains both the low-
Neuro-ophthalmic examinations of all participants including ered auditory sensitivity and the increased discomfort to loud
visual acuity, pupils, colour vision, visual fields, anterior and poste- noises as well as the process of photophobia. This may also explain
rior segment examination were entirely normal. Nineteen percent why additionally to photophobia and phonophobia other sensory
of patients had a myopic refractive error (between 1 and 4D). hypersensitivities such as cutaneous allodynia are associated with
Although this and most of the previous case series report a normal migraine attacks [17].
ophthalmic examination [2,3,8] one previous report noted lack of In the context of migraine, increased activity of the glutamater-
the rapid recovery phase following pupil constriction in three gic system can lead to excessive occupation of the NMDA receptor
patients [13]. which in turn may amplify and reinforce pain transmission, the
Most VS snow patients undergo electrophysiology, mainly elec- development of allodynia and central sensitisation [12]. Addition-
troretinograms and visually evoked potentials to exclude retinal ally increased excitation of the serotonergic receptors has previ-
pathology. This study and all previous reports do not suggest ously been documented in HPPD and migraine [3,18], both of
abnormal electrophysiology, to our knowledge [2,3,8]. Interest- which are possibly related diseases to VS. Although environmental
ingly, changes in electrooculogram recordings, in particular triggers clearly play a role there is strong evidence for genetic
reduced fast oscillation ratio, diminished standing potentials of predisposition to generalised neuronal hyperexcitability [19].
slow oscillations and higher Arden ratios, as well as electrically Interestingly the genes involved are regulators of synaptic trans-
evoked phosphene thresholds, in particular reduction of thresholds mission through the NMDA receptors, glutamatergic excitation
for long pulse durations, were recently reported for HPPD patients and plasticity for development of cortical layers [12,18]. These
[14]. It is unclear whether this is a distinguishing feature to VS or findings provide plausible mechanisms for the related disorders
whether this has merely not previously been evaluated in this of VS, namely migraine, HDDP and tinnitus.
cohort. Furthermore a large proportion of these patients undergo Recently hypermetabolism on [18F]-FDG positron emission
multiple, and at times unnecessary, investigations including blood tomography (PET) in the lingual gyrus and anterior lobe of left
tests and brain imaging (CT scan and MRI), all of which have been cerebellum was found in VS patients [4]. The lingual gyrus is
reported as normal [2,3]. involved in visual memory, facial recognition, attention and colour
The stereotypical description of the symptoms of VS and their perception [20,21] and more generally speaking visual post-
persistence even at times with eyes closed suggests a true biological processing. An overlap was noted with migraineurs without VS
phenomenon [3]. In fact even spacing of dots throughout the visual symptoms however, which may mean that the area might instead
field, as compared to a retinotopic organisation, indicates an origin be the neuroanatomical correlate of photopsia, a shared symptom
in higher order neurons beyond fusion of visual information from with migraine [4]. It was suggested by the authors that this may

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126 J.L. Lauschke et al. / Journal of Clinical Neuroscience 28 (2016) 123–127

represent a biological correlate to VS symptoms, however it is continued this further. The functional description of VS symptoms,
important to note that functional MRI hypermetabolism has previ- its associated palinopsia including shimmer, amelioration with
ously been reported to occur in both organic and functional disease increased luminance and aggravation with high contrast, all sup-
[22]. port the notion that VS may in fact be a related disorder of colour
When hyperexcitability affects widespread neuronal networks processing, in particular magnocellular pathway function.
it may drive thalamocortical dysrhythmia, a presumed cause for Our patient population responded very positively to colour fil-
tinnitus, migraines and tremors, and therefore perhaps VS ters and reported significant improvements in VS symptoms. This
[12,23]. The presence of increase in low-frequency theta rhythmic- occurred particularly with filters in the yellow-blue colour spec-
ity, in conjunction with an increase in coherence among high-low trum. Blue and yellow colour signals are carried by a subset of
frequency oscillations indicates the presence of thalamocortical koniocellular pathway cells [32]. Amelioration of symptoms with
dysrhythmias [23]. Research into the edge effect that is created colour filters in conditions such as VS or as previously reported
at a cortical area of dysrhythmia, a high-frequency gamma-band migraine, epilepsy and visual stress [5,6,38,39], suggests that
activity, is likely the origin for the clinical symptoms. The idea low-frequency brain rhythms might be entrained or cancelled by
was initially derived from evaluation of auras in migraineurs visual stimuli that selectively activate the koniocellular pathway
[24]. The common mechanism may produce a range of symptoms [32]. It is unclear whether the blue-yellow spectrum infers a direct
depending on the localisation of the dysfunction in the thalamo- benefit or whether the result is from blocking the red-long wave-
cortical network [23]. As such illusionary hallucinations can be length component of light thus preferentially activating P path-
traced to the V1 to V3 visual cortex, palinopsia can be traced to ways processing.
the parietal lobe coordination system and trailing, as well as The results from our study suggest that the pathophysiology in
after-images, can be located in the parietal association cortex VS is an imbalance between the konio- and parvo/magnocellular
[15]. It may well be that VS reflects high frequency abnormal activ- pathway interaction which underlies thalamocortical dysrhythmia.
ity in visual system. This would be in agreement with evidence of This explains its associated features of tinnitus, migraine and tre-
hypermetabolism on PET scan in the lingual gyrus [4]. mor, all of which have been hypothesised to represent thalamocor-
Recently an anatomical area was identified in the posterior tha- tical dysrhythmias. The latter symptom of tremor is one that has
lamus where photic retinal information and nociceptive input con- not been frequently reported in the VS literature, but was noted
verge, revealing an area that likely contributed to perception of in 22% of our patient population.
photophobia, a shared feature of VS and migraine [25,26]. Addi-
tional nuclei in the medial thalamus have furthermore been shown 5. Conclusion
to be responsive to light [27] and make direct connections to the
posterior thalamic nuclei [28]. The connections are thought to play VS is a debilitating syndrome that likely results from an under-
a significant role in neuronal substrate of homeostatic balances lying neurological deficit in visual perceptual processing. Associ-
and my well effect disinhibition of the posterior thalamus, thus ated symptoms of palinopsia, photopsia, nyctalopia, entoptic
affecting negative regulation of light sensitivity [29]. phenomena and associated disorders such as migraine, tinnitus
In fact, imbalances between konio- and parvo/magnocellular and tremor suggest a common underlying pathophysiology. The
pathway processing have previous been reported to underlie thala- most likely pathophysiological mechanism is that of thalami-
mocortical dysrhythmia in tinnitus, parkinson tremor and neuro- cortical dysrhythmia secondary to dysfunctional neuronal
genic pain [23]. The koniocellular pathway, also considered the excitability and impaired habituation response. Improvement of
‘‘primitive” visual system, differs significantly from the magno- symptoms of VS with yellow-blue colour filters adds evidence that
and parvo-cellular pathways that are involved in conscious vision. the dysfunction is neurological and likely related to colour, in par-
The koniocellular pathway contains many different cell types that ticular magnocellular pathway, processing. Further research is
project diffusely to the superficial cortex and control slow cortical needed to substantiate this hypothesis and further distinguish
frequencies. In contrast the P and M pathways project topograph- the different but related disorders of VS, migraine and tinnitus.
ically to the primary visual cortex (V1) and are linked to fast corti-
cal frequencies [30,31]. It was recently shown that the slow
koniocellular rhythms modulate the high frequency oscillations Conflicts of Interest/Disclosures
that underlie cognitive perception and influence sensory excitabil-
ity [32,33], which thus invokes that K activity may gate cortical cir- The authors declare that they have no financial or other con-
cuits derived from M and P pathway input [30]. Disordered flicts of interest in relation to this research and its publication.
magnocellular pathway function in particular has been associated
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