Pattern Visual Evoked Potentials and Spatial Vision in Retrobulbar Neuritis and Multiple Sclerosis

Abstract

• In an attempt to resolve some of the reported disagreements between visual evoked potential (VEP) recordings and Snellen visual acuity in patients with multiple sclerosis, we compared these test results with sine-wave grating—contrast sensitivity curves. Disease that depressed visual sensitivity for high spatial frequencies, sparing low spatial frequencies, was associated with depressed visual acuity and attenuated small-check VEPs in the affected eye, while largecheck VEPs were not attenuated. When visual sensitivity to all spatial frequencies was depressed, both large-check and small-check VEPs were attenuated, and Snellen acuity was reduced. In general, abnormalities in the contrast sensitivity curve predicted abnormalities in VEP amplitude, but VEP delay was less accurately predicted.