AETIOLOGIES AND PATHOPHYSIOLOGICAL BASIS OF MONOCULAR VISUAL AURA

Monocular visual aura is an atypical form of visual disturbance that could be indicative of many different underlying causes, originating in either the vascular or nervous system. The word aura is used to refer to migraine aura, but the description of scintillations, scotoma and blindness can also suggest many other aetiologies. There has been a varied use of terminology to describe these visual symptoms, such as monocular blindness, monocular visual loss, phosphenes. This narrative literature review aims to summarise the aetiologies of these monocular visual symptoms and their pathophysiologies. Relevant articles were sourced using databases PubMed and ScienceDirect, and from the bibliography of the articles. 17 articles were selected in total. Monocular visual symptoms were found to be a possible result of benign retinal migraine, as well as vascular and neurological causes. More research is still needed to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying each of the aetiologies.