ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Neurol.
Sec. Neuro-Ophthalmology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fneur.2025.1621659
Phosphenes and the effects of charged particles on the visual system
Provisionally accepted
- 1Sant'Anna Crotone Institute, Crotone, Italy
- 2Department of Neuroscience, (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy., Genova, Italy
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Objective: review the evidence from space travel crews, early and recent experiments in particle accelerators, and observations in patients undergoing heavy ions treatments for tumors of the eye or skull that charged particles act on the visual system triggering the perception of phosphenes. Results: the visual effects of charged particles are multi-modal in origin, act differently on the retina photoreceptors and neurons, and indicate a peculiar sensitivity to charged particles of the visual system. Acute toxicology in heavy ion treatment has been documented and should be differentiated by quasi-physiological actions. Significance: the potential relevance of phosphenes as indicative of functional impairment stands as a variable in hadron-therapy, the proper monitoring of which may contribute in optimizing the treatment procedures and in the prediction of outcome.
Keywords: walter g sannita, md department of neuroscience, rehabilitation, ophthalmology, genetics, maternal and child sciences (DINOGMI), university of genova 3, largo p. daneo, 16132 genova, italy ph: ++010-3537464 or phophenes, visual positive phenomena, space travels, hadrontherapies, mechanisms of generation, retinal activation, Cherenkov, Safety
Received: 01 May 2025; Accepted: 14 Aug 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Carozzo and Sannita. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Walter G. Sannita, Department of Neuroscience, (DINOGMI), University of Genova, Genova, Italy., Genova, Italy
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