[Topographic aspects of visual evoked potentials recorded after flash-pattern stimulation in normal subjects]

Visual evoked responses have been recorded on 14 leads placed on the scalp. They were localised on the central, parietal, temporal and occipital regions. The common reference was linked-ears. The stimulus consisted of a flash pattern. The size of the pattern and of each square was respectively of 20 degrees and 30 min. The stimulation of the total visual field had evoked two families of curves. One of these types of curves was posterior (occipital, temporal and parietal) and consisted in a positive, negative, positive wave (100, 136, 200 msec on average) and the second type was localised on the central leads and much more rhythmic than the posterior response. The initial complex (negative, positive, negative, positive: 70, 92, 120, 178 msec) was followed by a slow after-discharge. The half-field stimulation evoked a P100 component on the contralateral posterior leads, but this P100 was less prominent on the ipsilateral posterior leads. The modifications were particularly evident at the level of the temporal posterior electrodes. This P100 component was the only wave to be modified by half-field visual stimulation. The posterior N136 and P200 wave and all the rhythmic central response were exactly the same with half or total visual field stimulation. The results have obviously shown that the different waves of the visual evoked responses are not coming from the same sources. The interpretation of multichannel evoked recordings was therefore very difficult.