THE EFFECT OF BEHAVIORAL STATES ON VISUAL-EVOKED RESPONSES IN PRETERMAND FULL-TERM NEWBORNS

There is no general agreement about the influence of the behavioural s tates on the visual evoked responses. In the present study visual evok ed potentials (VEP) were recorded in 6 preterm and 6 full-term newborn s in the different behavioural states. A significant increase in the a mplitude was observed from sleep to awake states in both preterm and f ull-term infants. The results supply information in favour of the util ity of the behavioural assessment when VEP are recorded. It reduces th e variability of the results providing for more reliable normative dat a.