Faculty Bibliography

Reversing sine wave gratings were electronically swept in spatial frequency and contrast. The acuity limits and contrast thresholds of 4 observers were inferred from evoked potential stimulus-response functions elicited by these stimuli and retrieved with a quadrature lock-in amplifier. The evoked potential functions, linearized in the case of contrast by increasing contrast logarithmically with time, were extrapolated to the point of zero response. This point provides an electrophysiologically defined threshold value for acuity and for contrast. An oblique effect (superior sensitivity for HV-oriented gratings) could reliably be demonstrated in both acuity and contrast threshold performance. This oblique effect could readily be abolished under low spatial/high temporal frequency conditions. The findings are discussed in terms of shifting relative strengths of X and Y contributions to the steady-state evoked potential

Pattern evoked electroretinograms (PERG), diffuse flash electroretinograms (ERG) and visual evoked potentials were studied in patients with unilateral optic nerve disease. Patients with Snellen acuities of less than 6/30 did not have recordable PERGs in their affected eye, whereas their diffuse flash ERGs were normal. The VEPs were correspondingly reduced or absent when recorded from the poorer seeing eyes. A second group of patients with Snellen acuity between 6/6 and 6/30 in the involved eye showed reductions in the mean PERG amplitude of the affected as compared with the normal eyes. All affected eyes showed an abnormal contrast threshold measured with the PERG amplitude. Such results underscore the diagnostic value of the PERG in detecting even mildly affected cases of optic nerve disease

Using clinical and electrophysiologic measures, we evaluated the visual pathway of patients who had multiple sclerosis, 20/20 Snellen acuity, and no history of optic neuritis. Delayed latencies were found in the transient visual evoked potentials (VEPs) of 38% of the patients, and interocular latency differences were abnormal in 67%. Contrast VEPs were abnormal in 46%. Psychophysical determinations of contrast sensitivity were abnormal in 78%. Only 17% of the patients had dyschromatopsia, 36% had afferent pupillary abnormalities, and 59% had optic nerve pallor or nerve fiber layer loss. Psychophysical contrast evaluations and VEP studies were superior to other clinical evaluations in demonstrating visual dysfunction in these patients

It is possible to record a pattern electroretinogram (PERG) of near normal amplitude in a situation when the eye containing the active electrode is occluded. Because PERG recording requires high amplification and sensitive signal retrieval techniques, the electrode in the occluded eye records a distant potential from the unoccluded eye. Referencing the active electrode to an ipsilateral ear diminishes, but does not eliminate the referred PERG potential. Such unlooked for interaction may provide misleading data in situations where binocular viewing is used because of poor vision in one eye; therefore, occlusion of the eye not being tested should be undertaken whenever possible