Gender-based normative values for pattern-reversal and flash visually evoked potentials under binocular and monocular stimulation in healthy adults

• Published in: Documenta ophthalmologica Vol. 135; no. 1; pp. 53 - 67
• Main Authors: Dotto, Patrícia de Freitas, Berezovsky, Adriana, Sacai, Paula Yuri, Rocha, Daniel Martins, Salomão, Solange Rios
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.08.2017; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Acuity; Adolescent; Adult; Aged; Binocular vision; Cross-Sectional Studies; Electrophysiology; Evoked potentials; Evoked Potentials, Visual - physiology; Female; Gender; Healthy Volunteers; Humans; Latency; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurological diseases; Ophthalmology; Original Research Article; Photic Stimulation; Reference Values; Reflexes; Sex Factors; Surgery; Therapeutic applications; Vision, Binocular - physiology; Vision, Monocular - physiology; Visual Acuity - physiology; Visual evoked potentials; Visual stimuli; Young Adult; Normative values; Flash VEP; Visually evoked potentials; Pattern reversal; Gender; Visual pathways
• ISSN: 0012-4486; 1573-2622
• DOI: 10.1007/s10633-017-9594-x

Purpose To determine gender-based normative values for pattern-reversal (PR) and flash (F) visually evoked potentials (VEP) under binocular and monocular stimulation in healthy adults. Methods Healthy adults (age ≥18 years) were recruited among university employees and students. Inclusion criteria were absence of abnormalities in fundoscopy, tracking ability, stereopsis and pupillary reflexes; best-corrected visual acuity ≤.00 logMAR; and refractive error (spherical equivalent) from −6.00 to +6.00. Exclusion criteria were previous intraocular surgery, systemic and/or neurological disorders. Binocular and monocular tests were performed according to International Society for Clinical Electrophysiology of Vision standards for PRVEP (reversal rate = 1.9 Hz, checkerboard stimuli 15′ and 60′ at 100% contrast) and FVEP (3 cd s/m 2 , rate = 1 Hz). VEP parameters of amplitude (µV) and peak times (ms) were measured. Inter-ocular differences, inter-peak intervals (N135–N75) and binocular summation were determined. Results Fifty-four subjects (28 females; mean age = 40.4 ± 13.7 years; median = 40.0 years) were included. Mean P100 latencies for 15′ and 60′ stimuli were, respectively, 94.6 ± 4.7 ms and 96.1 ± 4.2 for women. Mean values of P100 latency for men were 97.4 ± 4.9 for 15′ and 97.7 ± 4.2 for 60′ stimuli. Larger mean P100 for 15′ checks was observed in women (12.8 ± 5.7 µV) than men (8.6 ± 2.5 µV) in PRVEP. Similar results were found for FVEP N2–P2 amplitudes (mean = 14.6 ± 4.9 for women and 9.8 ± 4.0 for men). Conclusions Gender-based normative values for PRVEP and FVEP were determined, with women disclosing higher responses than men for smaller stimuli in the visual pathway. The use of gender-based normative values in the analysis of clinical VEP data for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes is recommendable. Additional analysis including inter-peak intervals and binocular summation ratio might improve the diagnostic power of VEP.