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Activation of lateral extrastriate areas during orthographic processing of Japanese characters studied with fMRI.

We investigated the early orthographic processing in the occipital cortex using Japanese morphogram by functional magnetic resonance imaging. Kanji (Japanese morphogram) is one system of character used in the Japanese language, each character of which has a specific meaning and pronunciations. To ensure that the effects of the general visual properties of Kanji were excluded from Kanji-related activation, we created strict control stimuli, the "scrambled Kanji" that had the same luminance, contrast, and retinotopical size as those of the original Kanji. In the Kanji vs scrambled Kanji task, we found significant activation in the left inferior occipital gyrus. However, we found no activation in earlier visual cortices, including the primary visual cortex, indicating that the scrambled Kanji served as an effective control stimulus for this task. In the Kanji vs blank screen task, much more areas, including earlier visual cortices, were activated. The activation that we found in the Kanji vs scrambled Kanji task was compatible with the results of previous studies of English letter strings by other groups, suggesting that the left inferior occipital gyrus plays an essential role in orthographic processing common to these two different writing systems.

Arousal↗

Steady-state visually evoked potential topography during processing of emotional valence in healthy subjects.

The International Affective Picture System (IAPS) is increasingly used in brain imaging studies to examine emotional processes. This task allows valence and arousal content to be systematically investigated; however, previous studies have generally failed to select images that vary in one dimension as well as hold constant the variability on the other dimension. In addition, no studies have investigated the temporal structure associated with the conscious, ongoing processing of emotional stimuli following systematic selection of IAPS images. The aim of the present study was therefore to use steady-state probe topography (SSPT) to examine the steady-state visually evoked potentials (SSVEPs) associated with the processing of pleasant and unpleasant images low in arousal content. Seventy-five IAPS images, categorized as unpleasant, neutral, or pleasant, were presented to 16 healthy subjects while brain activity was recorded from 64 scalp sites. Analysis subtracted the activity associated with the presentation of neutral images from the activity associated with the presentation of pleasant as well as unpleasant images. Results demonstrate that both pleasant and unpleasant valence is associated with transient, widespread, and bilateral frontal SSVEP latency reductions. Unpleasant images were also associated with a transient bilateral anterior frontal amplitude decrease. Latency reductions are interpreted as increases in neural information processing speed, while amplitude reductions are interpreted in the current paper as analogous to an event-related desynchronisation commonly associated with the alpha bandwidth. These key findings support previous literature in terms of there being substantial overlap in frontal neural circuitry when the brain processes pleasant and unpleasant valence relative to neutral valence.

Adult↗

Nonlinearities in binocular visual evoked potentials in children.

Evidence is controversial in respect to the optimal conditions in which visual evoked potentials provide an objective measure of binocular visual function, related and unrelated to stereopsis, and there is little emphasis on the type of stimulus that produces facilitation in binocular recording. We investigated the effects of stimulus type (flicker or pattern), contrast, and temporal modulation on facilitation, which was defined as a binocular response greater than sum of monocular responses. Monocular and binocular responses to sinusoidally modulated flicker and grating patterns were recorded in children and Fourier analyzed. The relationship of the fundamental Fourier component for flicker and the second harmonic component for pattern were each examined as function of temporal modulation at two levels of contrast for monocular and binocular visual evoked potentials. Binocular facilitation was found across all conditions for flicker. Data suggest that processing of pattern and flicker has different sites of origin within the visual system. Facilitation in binocular visual evoked potentials also indicates that they are not a result of simple summation of monocular responses, since there appears a nonlinear component to such interaction.

Analysis of Variance↗

Visual evoked potentials specific for motion onset.

Motion-onset visual evoked potentials were studied in 140 subjects by means of motion-onset stimulation either on a television screen or through back projecting via a moving mirror. The motion-onset visual evoked potentials were characterized in 94% of the population by a dominant negative peak with latency in the range of 135-180 ms. Motion-onset visual evoked potentials with a dominant positive peak, as described in the literature, seemed to be a variant of pattern-off visual evoked potentials, caused by the pattern-disappearance effect at the onset of motion with a high temporal frequency (the multiple of the spatial frequency of the structure and the velocity of motion) of more than 6 Hz. Such visual evoked potentials occur mainly when the stimulus is limited to the macular area only. Additionally, other stimulus and recording conditions were found to be suitable for acquiring the specific motion-onset potentials without their contamination by pattern-related components. These conditions were as follows: an aperiodic moving pattern (e.g., random dots) with a low contrast (less than 0.2); a short duration of motion (less than or equal to 200 ms) and a sufficient interstimulus interval (at least five times longer than the motion duration) to decrease the adaptation to motion; and extramacular stimulation and recording of visual evoked potentials from unipolar lateral occipital leads. Such leads should be used because of the lateralization of these visual evoked potentials (mainly to the right occipital area), which is consistent with their assumed extrastriate origin.

Adult↗

Detection of hidden visual loss in multiple sclerosis. A comparison of pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials and contrast sensitivity.

The detection of hidden visual loss is important in establishing the diagnosis of multiple sclerosis, especially in patients who have neurologic symptoms of the disease. Both visual evoked potentials and contrast sensitivity have been used for this purpose. We compared the sensitivities of pattern-reversal visual evoked potentials and contrast sensitivity, measured with the Vistech VCTS 6500 chart, in detecting hidden visual loss in 18 patients with multiple sclerosis whose visual acuity was correctable to 20/20 (6/6) or better in the examined eye. Thirteen patients had delayed visual evoked potential latencies. An additional four patients had reduced P100 amplitudes without prolonged latencies. Nine patients had abnormal contrast sensitivity. The visual evoked potential was more sensitive than contrast sensitivity at detecting hidden visual loss in patients with multiple sclerosis (p less than 0.01).

Adult↗

Electrophysiological findings in paraneoplastic retinopathy.

Paraneoplastic retinopathy is a cancer-related non-metastatic retinopathy mainly associated with lung cancer. We examined two patients with presumed paraneoplastic retinopathy, both ophthalmologically and electrophysiologically. Both patients presented with initial visual complaints of moderate reduction of visual acuity. No specific fundus anomaly was found in the fundus except for a mild attenuation of the retinal arteries. The electroretinogram and pattern reversal visual evoked responses were either markedly reduced in amplitude or non-recordable. The electrooculogram recorded in one patient demonstrated a markedly reduced light peak/dark trough ratio. These results indicate the presence of a severe and diffuse bilateral retinal dysfunction, despite the relatively good visual acuities and mild fundus changes. Electrophysiological evaluations play an important role in the diagnosis of paraneoplastic retinopathy.

Aged↗

Pattern electroretinogram peak times as a clinical means of discriminating retinal from optic nerve disease.

Fifty-two patients with unilateral or bilateral retinal or optic nerve disease exhibited abnormal peak times and/or amplitudes in the pattern electroretinogram. While this abnormality in patients with optic nerve diseases was confined to an amplitude reduction, 40% of the eyes with retinal diseases exhibited additionally a peak time delay of the p and/or q component. We conclude that recording of pattern electroretinogram peak times provides an additional means to distinguish retinal from optic nerve diseases.

Adolescent↗

Pattern reversal visual evoked response and Snellen visual acuity.

Because the pattern-reversal visual evoked response (PVER) reflects the central retinal function, PVER results generally agree with those of psychophysical tests. The visual acuities (VAs) calculated from PVER recordings and Snellen acuity (SA) measurements were compared in 500 eyes (261 patients; ages 8 to 88 years; mean, 44.5 years). The best-corrected VA was measured using the ETDRS chart, and the PVER acuity was determined by the smallest check size that produced a definite PVER (critical check size). In 288 eyes with a critical check size of 10 min of arc, the SAs ranged from 20/15 to 20/800 (mean 20/38). In 68 eyes with a critical check size of 20 min, the SAs ranged from 20/15 to 20/800 (mean 20/97). In 70 eyes with a critical check size of 40 min, the SAs ranged from 20/20 to 20/1600 (mean 20/156). In 29 eyes with a critical check size of 80 min and 14 eyes with a critical check size of 160 min, the SAs ranged from 20/50 to 20/1600 (mean 20/312 and 20/398, respectively). In 31 eyes in which the PVER was non-recordable, the SAs ranged from 20/70 to 20/3200 (mean 20/1177). The PVER acuity using the smallest check size seemed to agree with the SA, but large deviations were observed in certain subjects.

Adolescent↗

Responses to coloured patterns in the macaque lateral geniculate nucleus: analysis of receptive field properties.

Response patterns to complex visual stimuli were further analysed. Patterns were correlated with linear or non-linear components of the stimulus pattern at various wavelengths. Resulting correlograms revealed the spatial and spectral structure of receptive fields; they showed peaks or troughs according to whether that wavelength was associated with an increase or decrease in cell firing. Spectral response curves as derived from linear correlograms were similar to those reported for monochromatic stimuli. Variability in responsiveness and crossover wavelengths was high between parvocellular layer (PCL) cells even of the same class. Spatial differences between excitatory and suppressive receptive field components, i.e. a centre-surround organisation, are not apparent in linear correlograms from PCL cells. In this respect, spectral response curves do not qualitatively change with stimulus size. Correlation in time and the derivation of impulse functions showed that, even in magnocellular layer (MCL) cells, responses to luminance steps are of mainly temporal origin and due to a transient component in the response. A description of cell responses based on linear processing accounted well for the response patterns obtained in our experiments. Of various non-linear interactions investigated, only some kind of non-linear spectral differentiation provided an improvement in the description of cell responses. This improvement, however, was only minor and not present in all cells.

Animals↗

An electrophysiological assessment of X and Y cells as pattern and flicker detectors in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.

We tested the hypothesis that geniculate X cells are the neural substrate of psychophysically identified pattern channels and that geniculate Y cells are the neural substrate of psychophysically identified flicker channels. The hypothesis was tested by measuring the relative sensitivity of isolated X and Y cells in the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat to counterphase and on-off grating presentations. The fundamental and second harmonic responses of X and Y cells to sinusoidal counterphase and on-off temporal modulation were measured at a number of spatial frequencies using two contrasts, 0.1 and 0.4. The fundamental responses of both X and Y cells to sinusoidal counterphase were greater relative to on-off responses. The second harmonic responses of Y cells to counterphase were larger at high spatial frequencies. Contrast sensitivity also was measured. At all spatial frequencies, both X and Y cells were slightly more sensitive to counterphase than to on-off presentations. Since flicker sensitivity in humans is twice as high for counterphase as for on-off presentations across all spatial frequencies, whereas pattern sensitivity is equal for the two presentations, we conclude that X and Y cells do not subserve uniquely pattern and flicker sensitivity, respectively. This conclusion is based on the result that differences between X and Y cells to counterphase and on-off presentations were inconsistent with the differences observed for pattern and flicker sensitivity. We suggest then that a spatial/temporal dichotomy does not seem to accurately characterize the functional roles of X and Y cells.

Animals↗

Object-centered encoding by face-selective neurons in the cortex in the superior temporal sulcus of the monkey.

Neurophysiological studies have shown that some neurons in the cortex in the superior temporal sulcus and in the inferior temporal cortex respond to faces. To determine if some face responsive neurons encode stimuli in an object-centered coordinate system rather than a viewer-centered coordinate system, a large number of neurons were tested for sensitivity to head movement in 3 macaque monkeys. Ten neurons responded only when a head undergoing rotatory movements was shown. All of these responded to a particular movement independently of the orientation of the moving head in relation to the viewer, maintaining specificity even when the moving head was inverted or shown from the back, thereby reversing viewer-centered movement vectors. This was taken as evidence that the movement was encoded in object-centered coordinates. In tests of whether there are neurons in this area which respond differently to the faces of different individuals relatively independently of viewing angle, it was found that a further 18 neurons responded more to one static face than another across different views. However, for 16 of these 18 cells there was still some modulation of the neuronal response with viewing angle. These 16 neurons thus did not respond perfectly in relation to the object shown independently of viewing angle, and may represent an intermediate stage between a viewer-centered and an object-centered representation. In the same area as these neurons, other cells were found which responded on the basis of viewer-centered coordinates. These neurophysiological findings provide evidence that some neurons in the inferior temporal visual cortex respond to faces (or heads) on the basis of object-centered coordinates, and that others have responses which are intermediate between object-centered and viewer-centered representations. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that object-centered representations are built in the inferior temporal visual cortex.

Animals↗

Pattern electroretinogram, visual evoked potential and psychophysical functions in maculopathy.

To compare pattern electroretinograms and visual evoked potentials with psychophysical examinations, such as visual acuity, static (automated) perimetry and color vision in unilateral maculopathies of various origins, 20 patients with unilateral retinal diseases within the macula and the posterior pole were tested. Pattern electroretinography, visual evoked potential testing and static perimetry (Octopus program M1) were performed with three different test field sizes (20 degrees x 20 degrees, 10 degrees x 10 degrees and 6 degrees x 6 degrees). The best correlation in all three test field sizes was found between visual acuity, static perimetry and visual evoked potential. This result is surprising, since central area defined functions (visual evoked potentials, visual acuity) correlated well with a total area integrating function (mean defect in static perimetry. The pattern electroretinogram, which seems to reflect an area-related function as well, showed a correlation to static perimetry only in the smaller 10 degrees x 10 degrees and 6 degrees x 6 degrees fields and not a significant correlation in the 20 degrees x 20 degrees field. Smaller stimulation fields may therefore produce sharper results in pattern electroretinographic testing. There was no correlation between pattern electroretinograms and visual evoked potentials or visual acuity. The pattern electroretinogram was recorded under monocular and binocular viewing conditions. In 60% of the patients, the amplitude of the affected eye was more reduced in the monocular than the binocular viewing condition; the healthy fellow eye controlled stable fixation of the affected eye more readily during binocular pattern electroretinogram registration. The degree of the color vision disturbance (C-index, desaturated panel D-15 test) did not correlate to any of the other examinations.

Adolescent↗

Color vision and color pattern visual evoked cortical potentials in a patient with acquired cerebral dyschromatopsia.

We examined a 74-year-old man because of difficulty seeing green and the presence of prosopagnosia. His visual acuity was 0.8 in both eyes. He was not congenitally color blind, and there was no family history of color blindness. A left superior homonymous quadrantanopsia was found. The dyschromatopsia ws identical in both eyes. The patient showed red-green deficiency on testing with Ishihara plates a deutan defect with Tokyo Medical College plates, strong blue-yellow defects and medium red-green defects with Standard Pseudochromatic Plates II and a tritan defect with the Panel D-15. He failed the New Color separation test with scores of 160 and could not carry out the Farnsworth-Munsell 100-hue test, but his color naming test results were normal. Visual evoked cortical potentials to black-and-white checkerboard and color pattern reversal (Red and Blue-Green, Green and Red-Purple, Purple and Yellow-Green: isochromatic paired checks) stimuli were normal. Bilateral inferior occipital lesions were found by computed tomography and T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Our findings suggested that luminance and color channels up to area 17 in our patient were intact. We believe that our patient's acquired cerebral dyschromatopsia is rare.

Aged↗

The effect of motion on pattern-onset visual evoked potentials in adults and children.

Visual evoked potentials can be elicited by a variety of visual stimuli, including pattern-onset and motion-onset. It may be desirable to combine pattern-onset with motion-onset stimuli, for example, to make a direct comparison between optokinetic nystagmus and visual evoked potential acuity thresholds. Both procedures employ grating stimuli; however, the gratings must be moving to produce optokinetic nystagmus. We compared pattern-onset visual evoked potentials with both a static and a moving pattern to investigate the effect of motion on the pattern-onset visual evoked potential waveform. Visual evoked potential recordings were made from 10 adults (aged 20-37 years) and 10 children (aged 5-7 years) with the active electrode at Oz. Stimuli consisted of onset of high-contrast vertical bars of three sizes (12', 30' and 60') both with and without motion (3 cycles/s). In a subgroup of subjects, visual evoked potentials were recorded to motion onset of constantly present gratings. Motion of the pattern had no significant effect on any of the latency components of the visual evoked potential waveform in adults or children. The amplitude of the C2-C3 component was significantly increased (p < 0.001) in adults. The motion appears to add a late negative component to the visual evoked potential similar to that produced by the motion-only stimulus. The latency of the early components of the pattern-onset visual evoked potential was unaffected by the presence of motion. Therefore, pattern-onset visual evoked potentials with moving gratings could be used to estimate visual acuity, and direct comparisons could be made between visual evoked potential and optokinetic nystagmus acuity thresholds with the use of the same stimulus parameters.

Adult↗

Effects of experimental scotomata on sequential pattern-onset, pattern-reversal and pattern-offset visual evoked potentials.

The effect of experimental scotomata on visual evoked potentials to half-field stimulation using sequential checkerboard onset, reversal and offset was investigated in 10 normal subjects to assess the relative sensitivity of the three stimulus modes, and the contributions of pathways subserving macular and paramacular parts of the visual field. Four scotoma sizes (0-1.5 degrees , 0 degrees - 2 degrees, 0 degrees -3 degrees and 0 degrees -4.5 degrees ) were used to mask the central part of the stimulus field (0 degrees -12 degrees ). Five check sizes (6', 12', 20', 50' and 80') were presented for each scotoma size. Peak-to-peak amplitudes and peak latencies of components on the ipsilateral and contralateral sides of the scalp to the stimulated half-field were measured. Scotoma size was highly significant in influencing component amplitude (p < 0.0001) and latency (p < 0.03) of all ipsilateral and contralateral onset components and all ipsilateral reversal and offset components. Components that were attenuated to the greatest extent with the smallest 0 degrees -1.5 degrees scotoma were the contralateral onset P105 and ipsilateral reversal P100 and N145. Onset CIII, reversal N80, and offset N85 and P110 only showed a significant attenuation after the use of scotomata of 0 degrees -3 degrees and larger. Our results show that scotoma size is a significant factor in influencing all the major visual evoked potential components, with the exception of reversal and offset contralateral potentials (N105 and N115), probably reflecting their paramacular origins. Reversal, ipsilateral P100 and N145, and onset, contralateral P105, appear to be predominantly of macular origin and the most sensitive potentials for detecting effects of small central scotomata.

Adult↗

The influence of response competition on cerebral asymmetries for processing hierarchical stimuli revealed by ERP recordings.

It is widely accepted that the left and right hemispheres differ with respect to the processing of global and local aspects of visual stimuli. Recently, behavioural experiments have shown that this processing asymmetry strongly depends on the response competition between the global and local levels of a stimulus. Here we report electrophysiological data that underline this observation. Hemispheric differences for global/local processing were mainly observed for response-incompatible stimuli and were most prominent between 320 and 400 ms after stimulus onset. These results underpin the idea that hemispheric differences are more likely to show up when a more elaborated stimulus representation is needed for triggering the response, that is, when a response conflict has to be resolved.

Adult↗

Temporal profile of visual evoked responses to pattern-reversal stimulation analyzed with a whole-head magnetometer.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) has become accepted as a useful method for non-invasively studying brain functions, including visual perception. The present study used MEG to elucidate information processing following pattern-reversal stimulation by analyzing the origins and properties of visual evoked magnetic fields (VEFs). The VEFs of ten healthy adults were recorded in a magnetically shielded room using a 122-channel whole-head magnetometer. The visual stimulation of checkerboard-pattern reversal at 1.7 Hz was presented to the subject's right hemifield. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) were recorded simultaneously, and 150 responses were each averaged for VEFs and VEPs. For the contrast profile study, pattern-reversal stimuli at five different contrast levels from 96% to 8% were used. In all subjects, the VEFs showed three components with latencies of approximately 95, 120, and 160 ms. The equivalent current dipoles for the first and the third components were located and were oriented close to each other in the left occipital lobe, but these dipoles were separated from that of the second component, which showed an opposite direction. Stimuli at a moderate contrast level markedly reduced the first component, but not the third. These findings indicate that the first and the third components of VEFs appear to originate from anatomically closely situated, almost identical, sources, but that their physiological properties differ.

Adult↗