The effect of experimental 'scotomata' on the ipsilateral and contralateral responses to pattern-reversal in one half-field

Abstract

The averaged cortical responses to a reversing checkerboard pattern presented monocularly in either left or right visual half-fields have been recorded from the occipital scalp using a transverse chain of widely spaced electrodes referred to a common mid-frontal electrode. The half-field responses showed a consistent asymmetry, the dominant feature of which was a positive wave (P100) that was widespread on the ipsilateral scalp and maximally recorded from the midline and ipsilateral electrodes. This formed part of the triphasic negative-positive-negative complex, the other two components being an N75 and an N145. On the contralateral scalp it was generally possible to record a triphasic complex of opposite polarity, but this was usually of smaller amplitude and its components (P75, N105, P135) showed greater variation in latency and morphology than the ipsilateral components. With progressive occlusion of the pattern stimulus from the central regions of the visual half-field, the ipsilateral positive wave (P100) was increasingly attenuated, while components of the contralateral complex were relatively unaffected, or, in some cases, enhanced. By contrast, reducing the radius of the stimulated area had relatively little effect on the ipsilateral P100, while the contralaterally recorded response was attenuated. These differential effects on the half-field response components are discussed in relation to the anatomy of the central and paracentral cortical representation of the visual field. The implications for the interpretation of evoked potential recordings in patients with field defects are considered.