A. Disumma et al., BINOCULAR INTERACTION IN NORMAL VISION STUDIED BY PATTERN-REVERSAL VISUAL-EVOKED POTENTIALS (PR-VEPS), Italian journal of neurological sciences, 18(2), 1997, pp. 81-86
Monocular and binocular visual evoked potentials (VEPs) in response to
different check sizes (15-21-38-84 minutes of are) 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 involves N75-P100. Both the N75 and P100
peaks occur earlier after binocular than monocular stimulation. The s
hortening of the N75 mean latency is significantly greater than that o
f the P100 mean latency when larger check sizes are used. The mean lat
ency of the N145 potential is not significantly different in monocular
and binocular stimulus conditions. The slight summation effect and la
tency shortening in the binocular VEPs are not consistent with the hyp
othesis that it is the sum of separate monocular signals originating f
rom the visual cortex that gives rise to the response. The early compo
nents of both monocular and binocular VEPs are thought to be of post-s
ynaptic origin (outside layer 4c of area 17), where the imputs become
mixed so that most cells receive information from both eyes. The ampli
tude enhancement of binocular VEPs, which mainly occurs when using sma
ll checks, may be related to the increase in the total amount of corti
cal activity representing the macular region; this may account for bin
ocular superiority in fine spatial resolution. The latency shortening
in binocular conditions can be explained by considering that the criti
cal determinant of the latency is the fundamental spatial frequency of
the pattern. When coarse patterns are used, their effectiveness in pa
rafoveal stimulation may affect the VEPs, with a significant contribut
ion coming from the more peripheral retina. The enlargement of the vis
ual field when the eyes see simultaneously may therefore further reduc
e the latency of the response when using the larger checks suitable fo
r eccentric stimulation.