Fourier analysis of steady-state visual evoked potentials in subjects with normal and defective stereo vision

The purpose of this work was to study the second harmonic in the steady state pattern visual evoked potential (ssVEP) to various stimulus frequencies in subjects with normal and defective binocularity. ssVEPs were elicited by 4 c/deg sinusoidal gratings, with temporal frequencies ranging from 5 to 20 Hz (exp. 1) and 15 to 27.5 Hz (exp. 2). Responses were Fourier analysed and power and phase of the second harmonic to stimulus frequency were measured. For power, binocular enhancement in a bimodal fashion was found both in normals and in subjects with defective binocularity. The power with binocular stimulation was significantly higher in the normal group in the high frequency domain. Latency, estimated from the phase-frequency function, was longer in the group with defective binocularity, but this was statistically significant only for the high frequency domain. The results suggest that a visual system with normal binocular function can follow a stimulus with high temporal frequency more accurately than a system with disturbed binocularity.