The effect of blur and contrast on VEP latency: comparison between check and sinusoidal and grating patterns

Motion onset VEPs can see through the blur

Motion-onset visual evoked potentials (MO VEPs) are robust to dioptric blur when low contrast and low spatial frequency patterns are used for stimulation. To reveal mechanisms of MO VEPs robustness, we studied whether the resistance to defocus persists even when using a high-contrast checkerboard using digital defocus in the emmetropic eyes of 13 subjects (males 20-60 years). We compared the dominant components of MO VEPs to pattern-reversal VEPs (PR VEP), which are sensitive to the blur. For stimulation, we used checkerboard patterns with 15´ and 60´ checks. To defocus the checkerboard, we rendered it with a second-order Zernike polynomial ( Z 2 0 ) with an equivalent defocus of 0, 2, or 4 D. For PR VEP, the checkerboards were reversed in terms of their contrast. To evoke MO VEP, the checkerboard of 60´ checks moved for 200 ms with a speed of 5 or 10 deg/s in the cardinal directions. The MO VEP did not change in peak time (P ≥ 0.0747) or interpeak amplitude (P > 0.0772) with digital blur. In contrast, for PR VEP, the results showed a decrease in interpeak amplitude (P ≤ 6.65ˑ10-4) and an increase in peak time (P ≤ 0.0385). Thus, we demonstrated that MO VEPs evoked by checkerboard, structure containing high spatial content, can be robust to defocus.

Pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials in prosthetic vision and simulated visual reduction

OBJECTIVE

To quantitatively evaluate visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in prosthetic vision and simulated visual reduction.

METHODS AND ANALYSIS

Four blind patients implanted with the Argus II retinal prosthesis and seven sighted controls participated. VEPs were recorded with pattern-reversal stimuli (2 cycles of a horizontal square wave grating, 0.1 cycle/degree) at 1.07 reversals per second (rps) for Argus II subjects and 3.37 rps for controls. Argus II patients had both eyes patched, viewing the pattern solely through their implant. Controls viewed the pattern monocularly, either with their best-corrected vision or with simulated visual reduction (field restriction, added blur or reduced display contrast).

RESULTS

VEPs recorded in Argus II patients displayed a similar shape to normal VEPs when controls viewed the pattern without simulated visual reduction. In sighted controls, adding blur significantly delayed the P100 peak time by 8.7 ms, 95% CI (0.9, 16.6). Reducing stimulus contrast to 32% and 6% of full display contrast significantly decreased P100 amplitude to 55% (37%, 82%) and 20% (13%, 31%), respectively. Restriction on the field of view had no impact on either the amplitude or the peak latency of P100.

CONCLUSION

The early visual cortex in retinal prosthesis users remains responsive to retinal input, showing a similar response profile to that of sighted controls. Pattern-reversal VEP offers valuable insights for objectively evaluating artificial vision therapy systems (AVTSs) when selecting, fitting and training implant users, but the uncertainties in the exact timing and location of electrode stimulation must be considered when interpreting the results.

Cortical dynamics in visual areas induced by the first use of multifocal contact lenses in presbyopes

A common non-spectacle strategy to correct presbyopia is to provide simultaneous images with multifocal optical designs. Understanding the neuroadaptation mechanisms behind multifocal devices usage would have important clinical implications, such as predicting whether patients will be able to tolerate multifocal optics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the brain correlates during the initial wear of multifocal contact lenses (CLs) using high-density visual evoked potential (VEP) measures. Fifteen presbyopes (mean age 51.8 ± 2.6 years) who had previously not used multifocal CLs were enrolled. VEP measures were achieved while participants looked at arrays of 0.5 logMAR Sloan letters in three different optical conditions arranged with CLs: monofocal condition with the optical power appropriate for the distance viewing; multifocal correction with medium addition; and multifocal correction with low addition. An ANOVA for repeated measures showed that the amplitude of the C1 and N1 components significantly dropped with both multifocal low and medium addition CL conditions compared to monofocal CLs. The P1 and P2 components showed opposite behavior with an increase in amplitudes for multifocal compared to monofocal conditions. VEP data indicated that multifocal presbyopia corrections produce a loss of feedforward activity in the primary visual cortex that is compensated by extra feedback activity in extrastriate areas only, in both early and late visual processing.

Validation of scrambling methods for vocal affect bursts

Studies on perception and cognition require sound methods allowing us to disentangle the basic sensory processing of physical stimulus properties from the cognitive processing of stimulus meaning. Similar to the scrambling of images, the scrambling of auditory signals is aimed at creating stimulus instances that are unrecognizable but have comparable low-level features. In the present study, we generated scrambled stimuli of short vocalizations taken from the Montreal Affective Voices database (Belin et al., Behav Res Methods, 40(2):531-539, 2008) by applying four different scrambling methods (frequency-, phase-, and two time-scrambling transformations). The original stimuli and their scrambled versions were judged by 60 participants for the apparency of a human voice, gender, and valence of the expressions, or, if no human voice was detected, for the valence of the subjective response to the stimulus. The human-likeness ratings were reduced for all scrambled versions relative to the original stimuli, albeit to a lesser extent for phase-scrambled versions of neutral bursts. For phase-scrambled neutral bursts, valence ratings were equivalent to those of the original neutral burst. All other scrambled versions were rated as slightly unpleasant, indicating that they should be used with caution due to their potential aversiveness.

Additive effects of emotional expression and stimulus size on the perception of genuine and artificial facial expressions: an ERP study

Seeing an angry individual in close physical proximity can not only result in a larger retinal representation of that individual and an enhanced resolution of emotional cues, but may also increase motivation for rapid visual processing and action preparation. The present study investigated the effects of stimulus size and emotional expression on the perception of happy, angry, non-expressive, and scrambled faces. We analyzed event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral responses of N = 40 participants who performed a naturalness classification task on real and artificially created facial expressions. While the emotion-related effects on accuracy for recognizing authentic expressions were modulated by stimulus size, ERPs showed only additive effects of stimulus size and emotional expression, with no significant interaction with size. This contrasts with previous research on emotional scenes and words. Effects of size were present in all included ERPs, whereas emotional expressions affected the N170, EPN, and LPC, irrespective of size. These results imply that the decoding of emotional valence in faces can occur even for small stimuli. Supra-additive effects in faces may necessitate larger size ranges or dynamic stimuli that increase arousal.

Changes in visual cortical function in moderately myopic patients: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy study

PURPOSE

To investigate haemoglobin oxygenation in the visual cortex of myopic patients using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

METHODS

The experiment consisted of two parts. Part 1 examined functional changes in the visual cortex before and after refractive correction in myopic patients. Subjects were divided into normal controls, uncorrected and corrected myopes. Part 2 examined functional changes in the visual cortex caused by lens-induced myopia in normal subjects, and whether this activity recovered after a period of rest. Here, subjects were divided into three groups: emmetropes, lens-induced myopia and a rest group. The rest group completed a test with the uncorrected eye following lens removal and 5 min of rest. The visual stimulus was a black and white checkerboard. fNIRS was used to detect changes in oxyhaemoglobin content within the visual cortex. The original fNIRS data were analysed using MATLAB to obtain the β values (the visual cortical activity response caused by the task); these were used to calculate Δβ, which represents the degree of change in oxygenated haemoglobin caused by visual stimulation.

RESULTS

The Δβ value measured in each single channel or only in the region of interest (ROI) was significantly higher in the emmetropic control group than the uncorrected myopic group. After optical correction, the responses of myopic subjects approached those of the emmetropes and were not significantly different. If myopia was induced in emmetropic subjects by imposing defocus with positive lenses, a decline in functional activity was observed similar that observed in uncorrected myopes. Activity recovered after the lenses were removed.

CONCLUSIONS

Myopic defocus reduced the level of haemoglobin oxygenation in the visual cortex, but activity could be restored by optical correction.

Induced astigmatism biases the orientation information represented in multivariate electroencephalogram activities

A small physical change in the eye influences the entire neural information process along the visual pathway, causing perceptual errors and behavioral changes. Astigmatism, a refractive error in which visual images do not evenly focus on the retina, modulates visual perception, and the accompanying neural processes in the brain. However, studies on the neural representation of visual stimuli in astigmatism are scarce. We investigated the relationship between retinal input distortions and neural bias in astigmatism and how modulated neural information causes a perceptual error. We induced astigmatism by placing a cylindrical lens on the dominant eye of human participants, while they reported the orientations of the presented Gabor patches. The simultaneously recorded electroencephalogram activity revealed that stimulus orientation information estimated from the multivariate electroencephalogram activity was biased away from the neural representation of the astigmatic axis and predictive of behavioral bias. The representational neural dynamics underlying the perceptual error revealed the temporal state transition; it was transiently dynamic and unstable (approximately 350 ms from stimulus onset) that soon stabilized. The biased stimulus orientation information represented by the spatially distributed electroencephalogram activity mediated the distorted retinal images and biased orientation perception in induced astigmatism.

The Influence of the Stimulus Design on the Harmonic Components of the Steady-State Visual Evoked Potential

Steady-state visual evoked potentials (ssVEPs) are commonly used for functional objective diagnostics. In general, the main response at the stimulation frequency is used. However, some studies reported the main response at the second harmonic of the stimulation frequency. The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of the stimulus design on the harmonic components of ssVEPs. We studied 22 subjects (8 males, mean age ± SD = 27 ± 4.8 years) using a circular layout (r₁ = 0–1.6°, r₂ = 1.6–3.5°, r₃ = 3.5–6.4°, r₄ = 6.4–10.9°, and r₅ = 10.9–18°). At a given eccentricity, the stimulus was presented according to a 7.5 Hz square wave with 50% duty cycle. To analyze the influence of the stimulus eccentricity, a background luminance of 30 cd/m² was added to suppress foveal stray light effects; to analyze the influence of simultaneous foveal and peripheral stimulations, stimulations are performed without stray light suppression. For statistical analysis, medians M of the amplitude ratios for amplitudes at the second harmonic to the first harmonic and the probability of the occurrence of the main response at the second harmonic P(MCSH) are calculated. For stimulations with foveal stray light suppression, the medians were M_0–1.6° = 0.45, M_1.6–3.5° = 0.45, M_3.5–6.4° = 0.76, M_6.4–10.9° = 0.72, and M_10.9–18° = 0.48, and the probabilities were P_0–1.6°(MCSH) = 0.05, P_1.6–3.5°(MCSH) = 0.05, P_3.5–6.4°(MCSH) = 0.32, P_6.4–10.9°(MCSH) = 0.29, and P_10.9–18°(MCSH) = 0.30. For stimulations without foveal stray light suppression, the medians M were M_0–1.6° = 0.29, M_1.6–3.5° = 0.37, M_3.5–6.4° = 0.98, M_6.4–10.9° = 1.08, and M_10.9–18° = 1.24, and the probabilities were P_0–1.6°(MCSH) = 0.09, P_1.6–3.5°(MCSH) = 0.05, P_3.5–6.4°(MCSH) = 0.50, P_6.4–10.9°(MCSH) = 0.55, and P_10.9–18°(MCSH) = 0.55. In conclusion, the stimulus design has an influence on the harmonic components of ssVEPs. An increase in stimulation eccentricity during extrafoveal stimulation leads to a transition of the main response to the second harmonic. The effect is enhanced by a simultaneous foveal stimulation.

Retinal Response of Low Myopes during Orthokeratology Treatment

The aim of this study was to evaluate the changes in retinal activity during orthokeratology (OK) treatment in 20 myopic eyes. Pattern electroretinography (PERG) and visual evoked potential (VEP) were assessed with the RETI-port/scan21 (Roland Consult, Wiesbaden, Germany). Measurements were taken at baseline (BL) and 1 night (1N), 15 nights (15N), 30 nights (30N), and 60 nights (60N) of OK lens wear. Repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Friedman test were used. Twenty eyes (23.20 ± 3.46 years, 70% female) with visual acuity ≤ 0.00 logMAR in post-treatment showed that despite a slight increase in retinal and cortical response amplitude, observed with both PERG and VEP, respectively, immediately after the initial treatment, these differences found were not statistically significant during the 60 days of OK treatment, despite a statistically significant increase in N95 response with PERG. This shows that retinal and cortical visual-related electrical activity is maintained or slightly increased during OK treatment.

Low-contrast Pattern-reversal Visual Evoked Potential in Different Spatial Frequencies

Purpose

To evaluate the pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PRVEP) in low-contrast, spatial frequencies in time, frequency, and time-frequency domains.

Methods

PRVEP was performed in 31 normal eyes, according to the International Society of Electrophysiology of Vision (ISCEV) protocol. Test stimuli had checkerboard of 5% contrast with spatial frequencies of 1, 2, and 4 cycles per degree (cpd). For each VEP waveform, the time domain (TD) analysis, Fast Fourier Transform(FFT), and discrete wavelet transform (DWT) were performed using MATLAB software. The VEP component changes as a function of spatial frequency (SF) were compared among time, frequency, and time–frequency dimensions.

Results

As a consequence of increased SF, a significant attenuation of the P100 amplitude and prolongation of P100 latency were seen, while there was no significant difference in frequency components. In the wavelet domain, an increase in SF at a contrast level of 5% enhanced DWT coefficients. However, this increase had no meaningful effect on the 7P descriptor.

Conclusion

At a low contrast level of 5%, SF-dependent changes in PRVEP parameters can be better identified with the TD and DWT approaches compared to the Fourier approach. However, specific visual processing may be seen with the wavelet transform.

Use of diffusing filters for artificially reducing visual acuity when testing equipment and procedures

PURPOSE

When evaluating ophthalmological devices and procedures, for instance those for visual electrophysiology, it is often desirable to perform tests with reduced acuity. Doing this with individuals with actual visual impairments has a number of disadvantages, such as considerable recruitment efforts, especially when a specific acuity range is targeted, and little control about the actual perceptual characteristics of the impairment, which are normally not fully known. Lenses with positive diopters or blurring filters that are placed in front of the eyes of visually normal observers promise a simple solution to the problem. However, defocus results in considerable spurious resolution, and previous studies suggest that the frequently used Bangerter occluders are not optimal for the purpose. The present study therefore reviews a number of other options and tests a selection of filters with respect to their effect on acuity and contrast sensitivity with the aim of identifying filters that primarily degrade acuity while mostly sparing contrast sensitivity.

METHODS

First, we screened several filters for potential usefulness. The Freiburg Acuity and Contrast Test was then used to measure visual acuity and contrast sensitivity with a subset of three filters (Luminit LSD 0.5° and 1°, and LEE 420) and, for comparison, with a Bangerter occluder with a nominal acuity grade of 0.1. A qualitative comparison of the filters' effect on the checkerboard-reversal VEP was also performed.

RESULTS

With both Luminit filters, variability in acuity across participants was relatively small, and at least with the 0.5° version, contrast sensitivity was relativity little affected. The LEE filter and the Bangerter occluder resulted in more variability and, compared to the effect on acuity, a relatively strong reduction in contrast sensitivity. Comparing the Luminit 0.5° and 1° filters, the reduction of acuity was not proportional to physical stimulus degradation. The effect on VEP responses was consistent with the psychophysical data.

CONCLUSIONS

The Luminit filters, which have a Gaussian light diffusion profile, appear to be a good choice for artificial reduction of acuity.

Awareness of perception and sensory-motor integration: ERPs from the anterior insula

The present work follows recent evidences of studies showing that visual stimuli evoke two early prefrontal event-related potentials (ERP) concomitant to the canonical occipital activities, but originating within the anterior insula (the pN1 and the pP1 components). To clarify the exogenous/endogenous nature of these components, we performed two experiments in which stimulus physical features (Experiment 1) and motor demands of the task (Experiment 2) were considered. In a simple response task (SRT), low-visibility stimuli evoked larger pN1 over the prefrontal areas (Experiment 1) with respect to high-visibility stimuli; in contrast, the occipital P1 component (concomitant to the pN1) had reduced amplitude in the low-visibility condition as expected. Furthermore, the latency of the P1, pN1 and pP1 was slower in the low-visibility condition (from 8 to 18 ms), and the motor response was slowed down as well (on average 14 ms). Pre-stimulus analysis showed that low-visibility stimuli were preceded by greater motor readiness. On the other hand, Experiment 2 showed that, compared with the SRT, the request to passively view the same stimuli was associated with smaller pP1. ERP source analysis confirmed the anterior insula source of the prefrontal ERPs; we interpreted these activities as the correlate of two top-down perceptual processing: the sensory awareness (the pN1) and the awareness of the sensory-motor integration (the pP1), associated with the subjective experience of the visual perception and the conscious experience of the sensory-motor coupling, respectively.

Effect of induced high myopia on functional MRI signal changes

PURPOSE

The current study evaluated the effect of lens-induced high myopia (IHM) on the activity of the occipital visual cortex during two visual stimuli presentations to the subjects. This was done by measuring the Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent (BOLD) signal using functional MRI (fMRI).

METHODS

BOLD contrast fMRI was performed with a 1.5T MRI scanner on 12 emmetropic subjects (refractive error <±0.25Diopter) with no history of neurologic disorder. IHM conditions were applied to subjects by three convex lenses of +5D, +7D and +10D. Visual stimuli with 0.34cpd and 1.84cpd spatial frequencies (SF) were presented as a block paradigm to the participants in three IHM states and normal vision state during fMRI data acquisition. Resultant fMRI data were compared among different refractive states.

RESULTS

Data analysis showed that IHM did not cause a significant change in the visual cortex activity throughout the presentation of 0.34cpd SF visual stimulus and BOLD signal intensity remained approximately constant (p=0.17). Although, fMRI responses to visual stimuli with spatial frequency of 1.84cpd demonstrated that visual cortex activity was significantly reduced in IHM states compared to normal vision (p=0.01), the results showed no significant differences between three different values of IHM.

CONCLUSIONS

This study shows severe blurring caused by lens induced high myopia can decrease BOLD signal intensity depending on the visual stimulus pattern details. However in the low and moderate range of spatial frequencies, blur increment from +5D up to +10D is not associated with further reduction in the BOLD signal of the occipital visual cortex.

Effects of refractive errors on visual evoked magnetic fields

Background

The latency and amplitude of visual evoked cortical responses are known to be affected by refractive states, suggesting that they may be used as an objective index of refractive errors. In order to establish an easy and reliable method for this purpose, we herein examined the effects of refractive errors on visual evoked magnetic fields (VEFs).

Methods

Binocular VEFs following the presentation of a simple grating of 0.16 cd/m² in the lower visual field were recorded in 12 healthy volunteers and compared among four refractive states: 0D, +1D, +2D, and +4D, by using plus lenses.

Results

The low-luminance visual stimulus evoked a main MEG response at approximately 120 ms (M100) that reversed its polarity between the upper and lower visual field stimulations and originated from the occipital midline area. When refractive errors were induced by plus lenses, the latency of M100 increased, while its amplitude decreased with an increase in power of the lens. Differences from the control condition (+0D) were significant for all three lenses examined. The results of dipole analyses showed that evoked fields for the control (+0D) condition were explainable by one dipole in the primary visual cortex (V1), while other sources, presumably in V3 or V6, slightly contributed to shape M100 for the +2D or +4D condition.

Conclusions

The present results showed that the latency and amplitude of M100 are both useful indicators for assessing refractive states. The contribution of neural sources other than V1 to M100 was modest under the 0D and +1D conditions. By considering the nature of the activity of M100 including its high sensitivity to a spatial frequency and lower visual field dominance, a simple low-luminance grating stimulus at an optimal spatial frequency in the lower visual field appears appropriate for obtaining data on high S/N ratios and reducing the load on subjects.

Temporal structure in associative retrieval

Electrophysiological data disclose rich dynamics in patterns of neural activity evoked by sensory objects. Retrieving objects from memory reinstates components of this activity. In humans, the temporal structure of this retrieved activity remains largely unexplored, and here we address this gap using the spatiotemporal precision of magnetoencephalography (MEG). In a sensory preconditioning paradigm, 'indirect' objects were paired with 'direct' objects to form associative links, and the latter were then paired with rewards. Using multivariate analysis methods we examined the short-time evolution of neural representations of indirect objects retrieved during reward-learning about direct objects. We found two components of the evoked representation of the indirect stimulus, 200 ms apart. The strength of retrieval of one, but not the other, representational component correlated with generalization of reward learning from direct to indirect stimuli. We suggest the temporal structure within retrieved neural representations may be key to their function.

Effect of lens-induced myopia on visual cortex activity: a functional MR imaging study

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Myopia is a type of refractive error that blurs retinal image and in turn can change neural signals transferred from retina to visual cortex. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of induced myopia on occipital visual cortex activity by fMRI results.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

BOLD fMRI was performed in 13 emmetropic volunteers (refractive error, <±0.50D) with normal visual acuity, good binocular vision, and no history of neurologic illness. Visual stimulus was counterphasing vertical luminance sinusoidal grating with spatiotemporal frequency of 1.84 cycles per degree/8 Hz and contrast of 60%. The functional images were acquired in block design, during normal refractive state and induced myopia produced by convex noncoating plastic lenses of +1D, +3D, +5D, by using an EPI gradient-echo sequence in a 1.5T MR imaging scanner. fMRI data were processed by using FSL software.

RESULTS

fMRI responses to visual stimuli demonstrated that percentage of BOLD signal intensity change and number of activated voxels within occipital visual cortex were reduced remarkably in induced myopic states of 1D, 3D, and 5D in comparison with normal refractive state; the results did not show a significant and regular decreasing trend in number of activated voxels and BOLD signal intensity change in these 3 different values of induced myopia.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that induced myopia has a considerable effect on visual cortex activity, because myopia induced by lens of +1D is sufficient to change fMRI results significantly. Accordingly, it is essential to correct myopia before visual fMRI studies, even if it is at low levels.

The response dynamics of primate visual cortical neurons to simulated optical blur

Neurons in visual cortical area V1 typically respond well to lines or edges of specific orientations. There have been many studies investigating how the responses of these neurons to an oriented edge are affected by changes in luminance contrast. However, in natural images, edges vary not only in contrast but also in the degree of blur, both because of changes in focus and also because shadows are not sharp. The effect of blur on the response dynamics of visual cortical neurons has not been explored. We presented luminance-defined single edges in the receptive fields of parafoveal (1-6 deg eccentric) V1 neurons of two macaque monkeys trained to fixate a spot of light. We varied the width of the blurred region of the edge stimuli up to 0.36 deg of visual angle. Even though the neurons responded robustly to stimuli that only contained high spatial frequencies and 0.36 deg is much larger than the limits of acuity at this eccentricity, changing the degree of blur had minimal effect on the responses of these neurons to the edge. Primates need to measure blur at the fovea to evaluate image quality and control accommodation, but this might only involve a specialist subpopulation of neurons. If visual cortical neurons in general responded differently to sharp and blurred stimuli, then this could provide a cue for form perception, for example, by helping to disambiguate the luminance edges created by real objects from those created by shadows. On the other hand, it might be important to avoid the distraction of changing blur as objects move in and out of the plane of fixation. Our results support the latter hypothesis: the responses of parafoveal V1 neurons are largely unaffected by changes in blur over a wide range.

Stimulus intensity affects early sensory processing: Visual contrast modulates evoked gamma-band activity in human EEG

We studied the effect of different contrast levels on the visual evoked gamma-band response (GBR) in order to investigate whether the GBR is modulated in a similar manner as previously reported for visual evoked potentials. Previous studies showed that the GBR can be modulated by individual characteristics (age) and experimental conditions (task difficulty, attention). However, stimulus properties, such as size and spatial frequency, also have a large impact on the GBR, which necessitates identification and control of relevant stimulus properties for optimal experimental setups. Twenty-one healthy participants were investigated during a forced-choice discrimination task. Sinusoidal gratings were presented at three contrast levels with a constant spatial frequency of 5 cycles per degree visual arc (cpd). The present data replicate the results reported for visual evoked potentials and exhibit a contrast dependent modulation of the GBR. Gamma activity is increased for higher contrast levels. These results demonstrate the importance of stimulus contrast for evoked gamma activity. Thus, it appears meaningful to control the contrast of stimuli in experiments investigating the role of gamma activity in perception and information processing.

Chromatic and achromatic transient VEPs in adults with Down syndrome

Oculo-visual abnormalities such as strabismus and high refractive error are common in people with Down syndrome, and account in large part for reduced visual function in this group. In the absence of such abnormalities, however, some spatial vision deficits persist, probably reflecting abnormal function of the neural visual pathway in this population. In addition, colour vision abnormalities are reportedly common in subjects with Down syndrome. We recorded transient visual evoked potentials in response to black-white and chromatic stimuli, in seven subjects with Down syndrome and 33 controls, to investigate function of the visual pathways underpinning spatial and chromatic visual function in Down syndrome. Our findings indicate, in agreement with previous studies, that retino-striate achromatic and chromatic processing in Down syndrome are abnormal. We find, however, that abnormal retino-striate processing of chromatic signals in this group may not give rise to colour vision deficits detected by the Colour Vision Test Made Easy or the City University test.

Effect of defocusing and of distracted attention upon recordings of the visual evoked potential

Pattern reversal visual stimuli are used to evoke potentials (VEPs) for assessment of visual acuity and for localizing defects along the visual pathways. Our goal was to assess the importance of attention and defocusing to the recordings of pattern VEP. Forty-one volunteers with normal (6/6) corrected visual acuity participated in this study. Twenty-one were asked to defocus intentionally the visual stimulus (located 200 cm away) by fixating at a target 25 or 50 cm from the eye. Twenty other subjects performed auditory tasks to distract their attention from the visual stimulus. Pattern VEPs were elicited by different check sizes. The amplitude and time-to-peak of the P100 wave were measured. Intentional defocusing caused amplitude reduction and prolongation of the time-to-peak in young subjects (20-34 years old). With the smallest checks used (7.5') we could not record a reliable response from 43% of the young subjects (6 out of 14). In older patients (35-61 years old), intentional defocusing induced negligible effects on pattern VEPs regardless of check size. There were no effects of auditory distraction upon the pattern VEPs. Our data suggest that intentional defocusing can produce false positive results (reduced VEP with prolonged time-to-peak) only when small checks are used in young subjects. Divided attention has negligible effect on the recordings of pattern VEPs. With proper controls, the pattern VEP test can be used for objective assessment of visual function.

Transient pattern Visual Evoked Potentials in children with Down's syndrome

Visual acuity and contrast sensitivity are lower in children with Down's syndrome than in those developing normally. In many cases, this difference might be accounted for by the relatively high incidence of ocular abnormalities (including refractive error and strabismus) in Down's syndrome. However, abnormal spatial vision persists in children with Down's syndrome in the absence of ocular abnormality, suggesting that abnormal retino-cortical visual processing explains reduced visual function in this group. The aim of the present study was to assess retino-cortical function in children with Down's syndrome by recording transient visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in response to pattern stimuli. Responses from children with Down's syndrome were compared with those recorded from children developing normally. Response latency is similar in the two groups, but morphology differs, with the N75 component being clearly present in the normal responses, but diminished or undetectable in responses from children with Down's syndrome. Our findings may suggest a cortical abnormality specific to the source of the N75 component of pattern-reversal achromatic VEPs.

Refractive anomalies and visual activation in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI): a versatile and low-cost MR-compatible device to correct a potential confound

PURPOSE

To develop a magnetic resonance (MR)-compatible, versatile, easy-to-use, and low-cost device for refractive correction.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

We retrospectively evaluated the application and practicability of the refractive correction in 110 subjects who had participated in various functional MR imaging (fMRI) studies with complex visual stimulation paradigms since the introduction of the MR-compatible lens frame at our site. The subjects consisted of 31 patients with Parkinson's disease (age range, 40-85; mean age, 63.2 years) and 79 healthy volunteers (age range, 18-79; mean age, 46.7 years).

RESULTS

In volunteers, experimentally induced myopia caused a substantial (>20%) reduction of the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) response to a flickering dartboard.

CONCLUSION

Refractive errors (and the resulting optical blur) may play a nonnegligible role as a possible interfering factor in fMRI experiments with visual stimuli. The MR-compatible frame (fitted with appropriate lenses) used in this study affords full refractive correction at reasonable cost and preparation time.

Effects of grating spatial orientation on visual evoked potentials and contrast sensitivity in multiple sclerosis

Previous studies suggest a delay of pattern visual evoked potentials (PVEPs) in multiple sclerosis (MS) depending on grating orientation. We examined a group of 14 patients with definite MS recording PVEPs to vertical and horizontal grating and analysing latency and amplitude of P60, N70 and P100 waves. We evaluated contrast sensitivity (CS) to dark and bright bars of several spatial frequencies (SF). The aim was to evaluate the diagnostic value of evoked responses and CS in revealing involvement of cortical structures. PVEPs to 1 degrees cycle/degree (c/d) vertical bars were abnormal in 25% for P60, in 32% for N70 and in 36%, for P100; in 25%, 36% and 42% respectively at 4 c/d; as regards horizontal bars at 1 c/d we found alterations of P60, N70 and P100 in 11%, 19% and 27% respectively; at 4 c/d in 19%, 27%) and 35%. CS resulted more abnormal for vertical grating, with a maximum impairment for 3.7 c/d SF. We may conclude that the use of vertical grating in clinical routine is more reliable both for PVEPs and CS testing; in addition CS can be abnormal even with normal PVEPs: this could mean an early impairment of CS and provide useful indications about a subclinical involvement of visual cortex.

Visual evoked cortical potential can be used to differentiate between uncorrected refractive error and macular disorders

The visual evoked cortical potential (VECP) is widely used to verify complaints of reduced visual performance and to identify the site of the disorder. In this study, we investigated the correlation between reduced visual acuity and VECP in volunteers with normal corrected visual acuity and in patients suffering from inherited macular degeneration or from age related macular degeneration (ARMD). Flash evoked VECP was not affected by the visual acuity in the cases of refractive error and in ARMD patients but was reduced in amplitude and delayed in implicit time in the patients suffering from inherited macular degeneration. The VECP elicited by pattern reversal checkerboard (PVECP) was not affected by the quality of the visual image in volunteers with uncorrected refractive error when checks of 60' or larger were used but were considerably reduced in size and prolonged in implicit time for checks smaller than 15'. In both groups of patients suffering from macular dysfunction, pattern reversal VECP was very subnormal and was characterized by prolonged implicit time compared to values expected from their visual acuity. These findings indicate that the PVECP does not directly correlate with visual acuity but rather with foveal function. Therefore, we suggest that recordings of PVECP can be used to differentiate between refractive error and macular disorders as causing reduction in visual acuity when other clinical signs are missing or not available.

Mechanism of binocular interaction in refraction errors: study using pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials

In this study we sought to determine whether a natural condition involving fine discrimination, for example moderately severe myopia, might yield interesting information regarding the binocular interaction expressed by visual evoked potentials (VEPs). We studied ten normal subjects with a mild refraction deficits. Transient VEPs were elicited by monocular and binocular stimulation under conditions of natural and lens-corrected vision. The visual stimulus was a pattern-reversal checkerboard consisting of 15' and 40' checks. VEPs in response to binocular stimulation were compared with monocular VEPs. We plotted the monocular 'better-VEP' and 'worse-VEP' response, since significant differences between individual eye stimulations were present. We found no significant difference between the mean N75 and P100 latencies of the binocular VEP and the better monocular VEP, regardless of the check size used and of natural or corrected vision. Under all stimulus conditions, the mean amplitude of the N75-P100 of the binocular VEPs was also larger than the better monocular VEP response. The difference proved more significant when we stimulated our subjects with smaller squares and left vision uncorrected. The mean P100-N145 amplitude obtained with binocular stimulation was larger than the better monocular VEP response only when using small checks (15') and uncorrected vision. Overlapping latencies are consistent with an earlier hypothesis that monocular and binocular VEPs originate postsynaptically from the binocular neurons in the primary visual cortex. The gain in amplitude achieved by binocular stimulation may depend upon the removal of 'tonic interocular inhibition' and/or on a cortical modulatory mechanism.

The recognition potential and reversed letters

The effect of letter reversal on the detection of Gestalt patterns was investigated by recording a short latency brain wave response known as the recognition potential (RP). The native language of 12 subjects was English. It was Chinese for 12 others. Three hypotheses were tested. (1) Strings of identical characters displayed on a background of dissimilar characters will evoke the RP. (2) RP latency will be less for normal letter targets than for reversed letter targets. (3) The letter reversal effect will be greater for subjects having longer experience with alphabetical characters. The hypotheses were confirmed. Similar effects of letter reversal were also found for longer latency electrophysiological responses and for behavioral reaction time (RT). The RP latency difference equaled the RT difference. This suggested that letter specific processes operated rapidly, not later, than the latency of the RP, and any subsequent processing had no differential effect on RT.

Effects of target area and letter complexity on event-related potentials and reaction time

The idea that an area of the visual field stimulated by a recognizable image activates a corresponding area of neural tissue that generates the recognition potential (RP) was examined. Sixteen subjects detected targets in a stream of non letter character arrays. The targets were one or five rows of a repeated letter (O or G). RT was less for the larger targets and less for O than for G. RP latency differences agreed with the RT differences. RP amplitude was substantially greater for large than for small targets and moderately larger for G than for O. P3 amplitude showed a different relationship. The observed amplitude-latency relationships indicated that differences in stimulus strength were not responsible for the greater RP evoked by the larger targets. The results strengthened the neural area explanation for RP amplitude modulation by the area of the visual fields impinged on by recognizable images.

Contrast dependency of motion-onset and pattern-reversal VEPs: interaction of stimulus type, recording site and response component

We compared the contrast dependency (from 0.4 to 98%) of the visual evoked potential (VEP) to motion onset and to pattern reversal at an occipital and lateral recording site using sinewave grating stimuli of 0.9 c/deg, drifting at 4.9 deg/sec. Two differing VEP components were identified: a positive component, peaking at around 130 msec, dominating the occipital derivation, enhanced in pattern-reversal stimulation, a high-threshold, late-saturating contrast response characteristic with a half-amplitude contrast above 7%; and a negative component at around 180 msec, dominating the lateral derivation, enhanced in motion-onset stimulation, exhibiting a low-threshold, saturating contrast characteristic with a half-amplitude contrast below 4%. The results suggest: (1) The negative component (N180) represents motion mechanisms, located more laterally, while the positive component (P100-P130) represents form-processing mechanisms, located near the V1/V2 areas. (2) A pattern-reversal stimulus triggers both form-processing and motion mechanisms that can be discriminated by latency. In an occipital derivation, the clinical reversal VEP P100 will be little contaminated by motion responses.

Binocular interaction in normal vision studied by pattern-reversal visual evoked potential (PR-VEPS)

Monocular and binocular visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in response to different check size (15-21-38-84 minutes or arc) were studied in 14 subjects with normal visual acuity and stereopsis. The binocular VEP amplitude is slightly higher than the VEP amplitude on stimulation of the "better eye" and significantly higher than the VEP amplitude on stimulation of the "worse eye"; this effect is observed using small checks and almost exclusively involved N75-P100. Both the N75 and P100 peaks occur earlier after binocular than monocular stimulation. The shortening of the N75 mean latency is significantly greater than that of the P100 mean latency when larger check sizes are used. The mean latency of the N145 potential is not significantly different in monocular and binocular stimulus conditions. The slight summation effect and latency shortening in the binocular VEPs are not consistent with the hypothesis that it is the sum of separate monocular signals originating from the visual cortex that gives rise to the response. The early components of both monocular and binocular VEPs are thought to be of post-synaptic origin (outside layer 4c of area 17), where the inputs become mixed so that most cells receive information from both eyes. The amplitude enhancement of binocular VEPs, which mainly occurs when using small checks, may be related to the increase in the total amount of cortical activity representing the macular region; this may account for binocular superiority in fine spatial resolution. The latency shortening in binocular conditions can be explained by considering that the critical determinant of the latency is the fundamental spatial frequency of the pattern. When coarse patterns are used, their effectiveness in parafoveal stimulation may affect the VEPs, with a significant contribution coming from the more peripheral retina. The enlargement of the visual field when the eyes see simultaneously may therefore further reduce the latency of the response when using the larger checks suitable for eccentric stimulation.

M and P components of the VEP and their visual field distribution

To study components related to parallel processing of information across the visual field, multi-focal pattern reversal visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded using binary m-sequences. Contrast, chromatic, spatial and temporal characteristics of the stimuli were varied in order to favor contributions from either M or P pathways. Responses were decomposed into two additive components whose behavior was consistent with that of M and P mechanisms. The results suggest that contributions to the VEP from the M pathway precede those from the P pathway, and that the ratio of P/M contributions decreases with eccentricity.

Comparison of the mechanisms of latency shift in pattern reversal visual evoked potential induced by blurring and contrast reduction

Reduction of visual acuity or of the contrast of the stimulus induces a prolongation of the pattern reversal visual evoked potential (PR-VEP) latencies, perhaps because these conditions cause deterioration of the visual capacity to recognize objects and may preferentially activate the slower central retina channel. The PR-VEP was obtained with a video stimulator and 3 kinds of stimuli: total video field, video with a central scotoma and a restricted central stimulus. The subjects were tested under conditions of normal (20/20) and reduced visual acuity (20/200) with 14' and 56' checks and 60% contrast, and under conditions of normal visual acuity (20/20) with 14' checks and with stimulus contrast of 60% and 25%. Blurring increased latencies and decreased amplitudes only with the 14' checks stimulus but no with 56' checks, and the amplitudes obtained with the central stimulus became greater than those obtained with a central scotoma. Reducing contrast increased only latency, and there was not difference between amplitudes obtained with a central stimulus or a central scotoma. We conclude that blurring small checks induces a preferential stimulation of receptors in the central retina, but the same effect was not observed when stimulus contrast was reduced.

Simultaneously evoked primary and cognitive visual evoked potentials distinguish younger and older patients with Parkinson's disease

While it is known that both primary visual processes and visuocognitive responses are affected in Parkinson's Disease (PD), their relationship is not known. It is known that both of these measures can be affected by age per se. Our aims were to determine if in non-demented PD patients visual cognitive event-related potential (ERP) changes simply reflect abnormal primary visual processing and to determine the effects of age and disease on their relationship. In order to do so, we introduce a new normalizing procedure for visual ERPs. In addition to the latencies and amplitudes of P100, N140, P200, N200 and P300 components, the P300-P100 latency difference (termed "central processing time"-CPT) were measured. In order to avoid confounding factors of absolute amplitude differences due to say, generally low voltage recordings or poor primary visual responses, P300 responses normalized to P100 responses were also evaluated (P300/P100 amplitude ratio). Visual ERPs were obtained in an "oddball" paradigm in 20 nondemented patients with PD and 20 normal age-matched subjects. The stimuli were horizontal sinusoidal gratings differing only in spatial frequency (0.5 and 1 cycle/degree). While simple ERP latency criteria did not distinguish non-demented PD patients as a group from controls, when younger PD patients were compared to older PD patients and controls CPT acceleratedly increased in younger PD patients. The amplitudes of both N200 and P300 provided significant distinction between patient and control groups. The surprising result emerging from this study is that an individually normalized P300 amplitude provides significant distinction of younger PD patients from age matched normals.

Induced refractive errors and pattern electroretinograms and pattern visual evoked potentials: implications for clinical assessments

Refractive errors were induced in normal subjects by means of positive dioptre lenses to reduce visual acuity (VA) from an initial level of 20/20 to 20/100 and then to 20/200. Pattern electroretinograms (PERGs) and pattern visual evoked potentials (PVEPs) were simultaneously recorded at each of these 3 levels of VA using high contrast checkerboard stimuli subtending 11' and 42' of visual arc. Attention was paid to PERG and PVEP variables used for clinical assessments. The findings confirmed the need to take refractive errors into account because, in some cases, latencies and particularly PERG amplitudes fell outside normal limits with decreased VA, especially when using smaller checks.

Effect of spatial frequency on transient and steady-state VEPs: stimulation with checkerboard, square-wave grating and sinusoidal grating patterns

We recorded VEPs to the alteration of checkerboard, square-wave grating and sinusoidal grating patterns to evaluate the contribution of the fundamental spatial frequency and higher harmonic components in 12 normal subjects. Their fundamental spatial frequencies were equated and ranged from 0.5 to 8.0 c/deg. Both the transient VEP (T-VEP) and steady-state VEP (S-VEP) were obtained. The latency and amplitude of P100 of T-VEPs were measured. S-VEPs were Fourier analyzed, and phase and amplitude of the second harmonic response were measured. The mean P100 latency and the mean phase had a U-shaped function with a peak at a fundamental spatial frequency of 2.0 c/deg irrespective of the stimulus patterns, while the mean P100 amplitude and the mean amplitude of S-VEPs did not show such spatial selectivity. At low and medium spatial frequencies, differences in P100 latency, phase and amplitude between pattern types were more pronounced. However, this difference became insignificant at high spatial frequencies. These results indicate that VEP responses are predominantly determined by the fundamental spatial frequency, and that the contribution of higher harmonics to VEP responses is not negligible. Our results are consistent with the concept that the human visual system may use spatial frequency-domain information.

Pattern visual evoked potentials in cases of ambiguous acuity loss

Thirty patients were referred to our visual evoked potential laboratory with complaints of profound acuity loss in one or both eyes. However, the objective ophthalmologic findings were normal, including pupillary reaction, and anterior segment and fundus examinations. Transient visual evoked potentials to a 2.3-c/deg sinusoidal grating pattern were found to be present in 26 of these 30 patients. Visual evoked potentials may be used as a measure of afferent pathway integrity.

Age-related changes in pattern visual evoked potentials: differential effects of luminance, contrast and check size

We recorded visual evoked potentials (VEPs) to checkerboard pattern-reversal stimulation in 109 normal subjects (51 males and 59 females; aged 19-84 years) in order to study the aging effect on the multiple channels of the visual system in humans. Transient VEPs to 3 check sizes (15', 30' and 50') were obtained by monocular stimulation. Two test conditions were employed: (1) a high luminance (180 cd/m2) and a low luminance (11 cd/m2) both with a fixed contrast (90%), and (2) a high contrast (85%) and a low contrast (10%) both at a fixed luminance (57 cd/m2). The major features of our results included: (1) the presence of a curvilinear relationship between P100 latency and age for all conditions, while the P100 amplitude did not show any such aging effect, (2) the age-latency function was similar between the two luminance conditions, while it was different between the two contrast conditions, and (3) the differential age effect on the P100 latency caused by changes in contrast depended on the check size. These results suggest that age-related changes in the human visual system are not uniform, but rather are different in the specific functional subdivisions. It is thus hypothesized that aging may differentially influence the separate channels of the human visual system.

The effect of spatial frequency and contrast on the latency in the visual evoked potential

The latency in the visual evoked potential was measured at spatial frequencies of 2-12 c/deg in 10 subjects. The contrast levels of the sinuosoidal grating patterns were set at 1.5, 1.75, 2.0, 2.25, 2.5, 2.75 and 3.0 log units above each subject's contrast sensitivity threshold. Two factors were shown to influence the latency: suprathreshold contrast and, to a lesser extent, spatial frequency. The visual evoked potential latencies at contrast sensitivity threshold were extrapolated. These threshold latencies showed considerable variation with spatial frequency and between subjects. Therefore, the visual evoked potential latency cannot be considered a useful tool for estimating the contrast sensitivity function.

Comparative effects of luminance and scatter on the pattern visual evoked potential and eye-hand reaction time

We investigated the effect of reduced luminance and increased scatter on the pattern visual evoked potential and eye-hand reaction time evoked to a check size of 0.5 degrees in 10 normal subjects. Data analysis indicated that a reduction in luminance as well as an increase in scatter caused a statistically significant increase in the peak time of the pattern visual evoked potential P100 wave. The reaction time, however, was not significantly affected by the initial 0.9-log unit attenuation of the stimulus luminance or the 0.3 scatter filter. Further attenuation of luminance or increase of scatter also yielded statistically significant increases. Our results suggest that the reaction time is less affected by a reduction in luminance or an increase in scatter of a 0.5 degrees stimulus than the pattern visual evoked potential is and therefore represents a more reliable test to assess visual function, especially in the presence of medial opacities, which are known to reduce luminance and produce scatter.

Visual evoked magnetic fields to flash and pattern in 100 normal subjects

The practicality of recording visual evoked magnetic fields in 100 subjects 15-87 yr of age using a single channel d.c. SQUID second order gradiometer in an unshielded environment was investigated. The pattern reversal response showed a major positive component between 90 and 120 msec (P100M) while the response to flash produced a major positive component between 90 and 140 msec (P2M). Latency norms of the P100M were more variable than the corresponding P100 and P2 visual evoked potentials. The latency of the P100M may show a steep increase with age in most subjects after about 55 yr whereas only a small trend of latency with age was detected for the flash P2M.

N70 and P100 can be independently affected in multiple sclerosis

We have studied the relationship between N70 and P100 of the pattern visual evoked potential in 98 patients with multiple sclerosis and in 59 controls. In patients with multiple sclerosis, P100 was either absent or had prolonged latency in 121 eyes (61.7%), while N70 was absent or prolonged in 97 eyes (49.5%). The total number of eyes with either N70 and/or P100 abnormalities was 137 (69.9%). Eighty eyes (40.8%) had abnormal latency of both P100 and N70, while 41 eyes showed P100 delays without corresponding N70 changes. Seventeen eyes had abnormal N70, but normal P100 latency. N70 and P100 appear to be more often absent in the definite rather than in the possible multiple sclerosis group. These data show that N70 and P100 can be independently affected in patients with MS.

Comparison of the effects of Alzheimer's disease, normal aging and scopolamine on human transient visual evoked potentials

Transient visual evoked potentials elicited by the onset of a patterned stimulus were recorded in patients suffering from Alzheimer's disease (AD), in healthy elderly controls and in healthy young individual. The latencies and amplitudes of both the components studied were adversely affected by normal aging and one of the components, CI, but not the other, CII, showed further deterioration in AD. These changes occurred over a range of stimulus contrast levels. The changes found in AD, but not those seen in normal aging, could be mimicked by administration of the cholinergic antagonist scopolamine to young volunteers.