Retinal nerve fiber layer thickness profiles associated with ocular laterality and dominance

Abstract

Although human anatomy is arranged symmetrically based on a central vertical axis, the majority of persons will use one side of their body more readily than the other. Interestingly, these lateral body dominances including ocular dominance are all rightward. The asymmetry in retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness between the right and left eyes in healthy subjects has been reported in several studies, and the reason for this structural difference between right and left eyes is unclear. In the manuscript, we hypothesized that the characteristics of ocular dominance are reflected in the RNFL profile and may be related to inter-ocular structural differences between right and left eyes. In this study, ocular dominance occurred mostly in right eyes (right vs. left: 78.77% vs. 21.22%; P<0.001). According to ocular dominance and laterality, different relationships between the inferior and superior RNFLs were observed. The right eyes had a thicker RNFL, except in the superior quadrant, than the left eyes. Regardless of laterality, inferior RNFL was thicker than superior RNFL in the dominant eyes. To our knowledge, this paper is the first report demonstrating the RNFL characteristics associated with ocular dominance.