Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-t7fkt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T20:56:44.378Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Effects of Stimulus Shape on Visual Evoked Potentials

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  18 September 2015

Sherrill J. Purves*
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Department of Diagnostic Neurophysiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
Morton D. Low
Affiliation:
Division of Neurology, Department of Medicine, University of British Columbia and Department of Diagnostic Neurophysiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, Canada
*
Dept. of Medicine, Vancouver General Hospital, 855 West 12th Ave. Vancouver, B.C.V5Z 1M9 Canada.
Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary:

Core share and HTML view are not available for this content. However, as you have access to this content, a full PDF is available via the ‘Save PDF’ action button.

Visual evoked responses (VER) to four geometric shapes (a square, circle, el and omega) were recorded from multiple scalp locations in twelve subjects. Significant differences were found between the occipital VERs to the square and el and between the VERs to the circle and omega. Consistent differences could not be demonstrated between the responses to the square and circle or to the el and omega.

The differences between the responses were quantified by three different methods, including measurement of peak latencies and amplitudes, computation of a ratio index called λ, and the performance of discriminant functions derived by Stepwise Discriminant Analysis Program (SWDA) in classifying other single trial responses. The amplitudes (but not the latencies) of a negative peak at approximately 150 msec, and a positive one at 220 msec, latency were found to be different in the pairs of shapes described. SWDA was able to separate these same pairs and classify from 63 to 68% of new trials correctly. The latency points chosen to make up the discriminant functions correlated partly with the and components that were found to be significantly different in amplitude.

It is suggested that the VER differences in the earlier part of the wave-form are related to the physical properties of the stimuli, including the contrast densities in the central 1.5° of the visual field and/'or the spatial frequencies contained in the stimuli. Differences demonstrated in later parts of the VERs may reflect differences in symbolic meaning of the stimuli.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Canadian Neurological Sciences Federation 1978

References

REFERENCES

Blakemore, C. and Campbell, F.W. (1969) On the existence of neurons in the human visual system selectively sensitive to the orientation and size of retinal images. J. Physiol. 203: 237260.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buchsbaum, M. and Fedio, P. (1969) Visual information and evoked responses from the left and right hemispheres. Electroenceph. Clin. Neurophysiol. 26: 266272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Campbell, F.W. and Robson, J.G. (1968) Application of Fourier analysis to the visibility of gratings. J. Physiol. 197: 551566.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dixon, W.J. (1965) (Ed.) BMD — Biomedical Computer Programs, Univ. of California, Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Donchin, E. (1969) Data analysis techniques in average evoked potential research. In Averaged Evoked Potentials, (eds.) Donchin, E. & Lindsley, D.B. NASA, Sp–191, Washington, D.C. p. 199236.Google Scholar
Harter, M.R. (1970) Evoked cortical responses to checkerboard patterns: effect of check-size as a function of retinal eccentricity. Vision Res., 10: 13651376.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Harter, M.R., and White, C.T. (1968) Effects of contour sharpness and check size on visually evoked cortical potentials. Vision Res., 8: 701711.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
John, E.R. and Herrington, R.N. and Sutton, S. (1967) Effects of visual form on the evoked response. Science 155: 14701471.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Mackay, D.M. (1969) Evoked brain potentials as indicators of sensory information processing. Neurosciences Res. Prog. Bull 7, No. 3: p. 181273.Google Scholar
Musso, M.F. and Harter, M.R. (1975) Visually evoked potentials and selective masking with patterned flashes of different spatial frequencies. Vision Res., 15: 231238.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Regan, D. (1972) Evoked Potentials in Psychology, Sensory Physiology and Clinical Medicine. Chapman and Hall (London).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rem, M.A. and Schwartz, M. (1976) Retinal versus central processes in determin ing averaged evoked response waveforms. Physiol. Behav. 16: 705709.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rietveld, W.J., Tordoir, W.E., Hagenouw, J.R.B., Lubbers, J.A. and Spoor, T.A.C. (1967) Visual evoked responses to blank and to checkerboard patterned flashes. Acta Physiol. Pharmacol. Neerl., 14: 259285.Google Scholar
Scheffe, H. (1959) Analysis of Variance., John Wiley & Sons.Google Scholar
Spekreuse, H., Van Der Tweel, L.H., and Zuidema, T. (1973) Contrast evoked response in man. Vision Res. 13: 15771601.CrossRefGoogle Scholar