[Negative potentials of the human brain to visual stimuli evoking saccades]

EEG of the frontal and parietal areas (F3, F4, Fz, P3, P4 according to the International 10-20 System) was recorded in 4 healthy subjects aged 20-25 years. The saccades were elicited by the shift of the light stimulus to the peripheral diodes (step or gap stimulation scheme). A complex fast event-related potential was evoked by the visual stimulation prior to the saccade onset. Amplitudes and topography of this potential depended on the saccade latency, stimulation scheme, spatial pattern of stimuli presentation and individual features of a subject. It is suggested that the early negative potentials reflect the processes of sensory processing of the stimuli spatial patterns and perceptive attention. The negative potentials with the intermediate latency may reflect the processes of activation of the cortical structures which participate in programming and triggering the saccades.