Clinical applications of visual evoked potentials in neurology

Neurological applications of visual evoked potentials (VEP) have been expanding over the last decade. Stimulation techniques and waveform interpretation are reviewed. Physiologic variables including age, sex, habituation, refraction, cooperation, and factors influencing the amount of light reaching the retina will effect the VEP. Technical variables including luminance, check size, field size and color of check will also have an effect on the VEP. When properly performed, VEP can contribute important information on the visual pathways in patients with optic neuritis, multiple sclerosis, optic nerve and chiasm compressive lesions, non-compressive lesions affecting the visual pathways and neurodegenerative diseases not primarily involving the visual pathways. VEP has been shown to be a very sensitive though non-specific diagnostic tool.