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Biomedical subjects

W Skrandies

Publications and source records attributed to W Skrandies.

At least 55 records · Page 3Linked to original sources
PubMed1987

Alteration of visual evoked potentials and electroretinograms in Parkinson's disease.

A group of 24 patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) with normal fundi and normal visual acuities was examined electrophysiologically. Checkerboard reversal VEPs and ERGs (P-ERGs) at various contrast levels as well as photopic and scotopic luminance ERGs were recorded and compared with an age-matched group of controls. Earlier reported latency increases of the VEPs of the patients were confirmed for patterns of high contrast only. Scotopic and photopic luminance ERGs of the patients showed normal latencies, but at all light intensities the amplitudes of the scotopic and photopic b wave, as well as the amplitudes of the photopic a waves, were significantly reduced, P-ERG amplitudes were reduced at 50% contrast. Identical results were obtained in patients under dopaminergic treatment (n = 17) and in patients who did not receive any treatment (n = 7). These results suggest that alterations occur already at the retinal level where dopamine receptors have been found. Thus the reported changes of the VEP are not caused by the visual cortex alone.

Adult↗
PubMed1987

Visual persistence of stereoscopic stimuli: electric brain activity without perceptual correlate.

Dynamic random-dot stereograms (RDS) were used to study cortical neuronal mechanisms related to visual persistence in nine subjects. Electric brain potential components evoked by stereoscopic stimuli were compared to those evoked by conventional checkerboard stimuli with contrast borders. In a pattern-onset/offset presentation visual persistence thresholds were significantly lower for stereoscopic than for contrast stimuli: with temporally modulated patterns stereoscopic stimuli appeared to visually persist at much shorter interstimulus intervals than contrast stimuli. With stereoscopic stimuli all subjects reported not seeing changes of the RDS pattern, while the corresponding evoked potentials showed components related to the stimulus changes indicating a consistent discrepancy between psychophysical and electrophysiological data. The electrical brain activity was not caused by vergence eye movements elicited by the stereoscopic stimulus. In addition, for dynamic RDS stimuli a significant inverse linear relationship between temporal modulation frequency and evoked potential amplitude was found which was not observed with comparable contrast stimuli.

Adult↗
PubMed1986

The standing potential of the human eye reflects differences between upper and lower retinal areas.

In 12 healthy subjects the "light peak" of the electrooculogram was measured following localized stimulation of various retinal locations. Significant differences in "light peak" amplitudes were found between central and peripheral stimulation, and at 10 deg eccentricity the "light peak" amplitudes were significantly larger following upper retinal stimulation than those elicited by lower retinal stimuli. In addition, the "light peak" amplitude produced by upper or lower retinal stimulation behaved differently when test light intensity increased. The upper retinal areas showed consistently a higher sensitivity to light intensity changes than the lower retinal areas. The "light peak" of the EOG is believed to index the rate of retinal metabolism elicited by light stimuli. Our findings show that upper retinal areas display a higher level of light-induced activity reflecting the interaction between the photoreceptors and the retinal pigment epithelium than lower retinal areas. The results are interpreted as a superiority of the upper over the lower retina and are related to other electrophysiological and functional differences between upper and lower retinal areas of man.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed1986

Alterations of visual contrast sensitivity in Parkinson's disease.

Contrast sensitivity functions were determined in a population of 18 patients suffering from Parkinson's disease, and compared with the data obtained in an age-matched group of healthy controls. The controls were more sensitive at all spatial frequencies tested than the patients. The statistical comparisons were highly significant, indicating general differences between the PD patients and the controls not related to individual spatial frequency channels. When comparing the sensitivity loss between low and high spatial frequencies no significant differences were found suggesting that the decrease in contrast sensitivity is a global effect. We controlled for effects of age and cerebral atrophy, and our findings cannot be accounted for by these factors. In addition, the amount of contrast sensitivity loss was not correlated with the severity of the disease. These global functional alterations appear to be related to the reduction of dopamine at various sites of the visual system.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Stereoscopic stimuli activate different cortical neurones in man: electrophysiological evidence.

Dynamic random dot stimuli offer the possibility to study cortical neuronal mechanisms related to depth perception in man because these stimuli operationally skip all stages prior to the activation of cortical binocular disparity neurones. In the present paper, the scalp topography of brain potential components evoked by stereoscopic stimuli are compared with those evoked by similar binocular contrast stimuli, and our results present evidence that different neuronal populations of the visual cortex are activated in these two stimulus conditions.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

[Stereovision in random dot pattern VECP: normal findings and clinical use].

Cortical potentials evoked by dynamic random dot stereograms were recorded in 15 normal subjects and 19 patients with impaired stereoscopic vision. The potentials obtained were compaired with those evoked by similarly arranged checkerboard contrast stimuli, binocularly presented. The two modes of stimulation yielded potentials of similar component latencies but the stereoscopically evoked component amplitudes were significantly lower. In nine-channel recordings the stereoscopically evoked potentials were found to be located farther anterior topographically, suggesting a different neural generating mechanism. Patients with impaired stereoscopic vision had lower amplitudes and longer peak latencies than normal subjects. In addition, larger disparities had to be used to elicit a response in these patients. There was a high degree of correlation between the disparity thresholds determined by evoked cortical potentials and those obtained by sensory measurements.

Depth Perception↗
PubMed1985

Critical flicker fusion and double flash discrimination in different parts of the visual field.

The temporal sensitivity of the visual system was investigated in fifteen healthy subjects by determining the critical flicker fusion frequency (CFF) and the performance in a double flash discrimination (DFD) task. Measurements were obtained using a small test light of 2.5 degrees diameter in the fovea and at eight different perifoveal retinal locations along the horizontal and vertical meridians. Statistically significant differences were found for both the CFF and the DFD task showing a higher temporal sensitivity of the nasal and upper than the temporal and lower retinal areas. The functional significance of the findings is discussed and related to electrophysiological and behavioral data which describe a functional superiority of the upper over the lower hemiretinal system.

Adult↗
PubMed1985

Human contrast sensitivity: regional retinal differences.

Contrast sensitivity functions of foveal and of perifoveal upper and lower hemiretinal regions were measured in a population of twenty subjects. Foveal stimuli yielded consistently higher contrast sensitivities as well as a shift of the maximal sensitivity towards higher spatial frequencies as compared to perifoveal stimuli. The upper hemiretinal area was more sensitive at all spatial frequencies tested than the corresponding lower hemiretinal area. The statistical comparisons were highly significant, indicating not only regional retinal differences in visual acuity as reflected by the different contrast threshold levels at the highest spatial frequency, but also global differences between the upper and lower hemiretina systems not restricted to certain spatial frequency channels.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Scalp potential fields evoked by grating stimuli: effects of spatial frequency and orientation.

Visually evoked potentials were recorded from an array of 16 electrodes over the occipital cortex in 12 subjects. Grating stimuli of different spatial frequencies were presented on a circular test field, and potential fields evoked by vertical, horizontal and oblique stimuli were compared. Component latencies were determined by computing a reference-independent measure of field power. Scalp field maps were constructed at component latencies and compared over all conditions. Significant influences of both spatial frequency and orientation on component latencies were found. Component latencies were shortest for 2.3 c/deg gratings, and for vertically oriented stimuli. Latencies increased for horizontal, and further for oblique, gratings. The effect of spatial frequency or orientation on the location of the major components on the scalp was less pronounced. On the other hand, there were significant differences both in component latency and scalp distribution when upper and lower hemiretinal stimuli were compared. Upper hemiretinal stimulation yielded shorter latencies and a more anteriorly located potential peak on the scalp.

Adult↗
PubMed1984

Evoked potential correlates of figure and ground.

Brain potentials averaged during the viewing of an alternating, positive and negative "hidden man" puzzle picture were averaged from 8 subjects before and after they learned to recognize the figure. After figure recognition in comparison to before recognition, there was significantly more evoked positivity at 64/96 ms latency, and more negativity at 224/256 ms and at 352-480 ms latency over parietal areas during the viewing of the positive picture (recognizable as face) referred to the values obtained during viewing of the negative picture (not recognizable as face). It is hypothesized that separate physiological changes might reflect learned meaningfulness of the figure (which entails increased attention) and figure extraction from ground.

Attention↗
PubMed1984

Spatial analysis of evoked potentials in man--a review.

Steps in brain information processing are reflected on the scalp as changes of the electric potential which is evoked by the stimulus. However, for a given recording point on the scalp, there is no absolute amplitude or phase information of the electric brain potential. This means that the shape of an evoked potential waveform which is recorded from a given scalp location crucially depends on the location of the chosen reference. Only unbiased results of evoked potential data evaluation can be hoped to elucidate or map successfully into information processing models established by other methods, e.g. behavior measurements. Conventional recordings vs a common reference contain only one of many possible sets of waveshapes. In order to avoid ambiguities or bias of results, the entire evoked potential data set firstly must be analysed over space, and reference-independent parameters must be extracted. For each time point, the spatial distribution of the potentials is viewed as field map. The parameter extraction in a direct approach at each time point includes, e.g. locations of field peaks and troughs, voltage and gradient between them, and global electrical field power; or, parameters via the first or second spatial derivative of the electric field. In the second step, changes of these reference-independent field measurements are analysed over time. At component latency which is defined by maximal, global field power or by voltage range, mapped field distributions can be compared using maximal/minimal field value locations or complete maps. Significantly different field configurations establish the activity of non-identical neural generators. Classification of the field configurations (examination of orbits of field extrema over time) leads to the segmentation of series of field maps (multichannel EP data) into short epochs of stationary spatial configurations (i.e. spatially characterized components) with equal consideration of all recording points, and without the amplitude criterion. The application of these principles to the following problems is discussed: comparison of evoked potentials between different analysis times, in particular pre-stimulus and post-stimulus electric brain states; zero baseline for measurement; reference electrode; identification of evoked components in time and space. Illustrations of these problems include functional differences of input-analysing sub-systems, and the topography of cognition- and speech-related electric brain activity.

Brain↗
PubMed1982

Spatial principal components of multichannel maps evoked by lateral visual half-field stimuli.

Multichannel records of responses to large and small hemiretinal stimuli were obtained from 6 healthy subjects. Scalp distribution maps were constructed for all conditions at all post-stimulus times and component latencies were objectively determined by computing a reference-independent measure of field power. This procedure identified 2 components (at 100 and 140 msec). The scalp distribution data at these latencies were entered into a spatial principal components analysis which further reduced the data set to three underlying spatial principal components. These components may be regarded as reflecting underlying processes and were related to experimental conditions. A component reflecting lateralized brain activity displayed a significant interaction between size and retinal location of the stimulus with large stimuli showing a more pronounced lateralization over the hemisphere contralateral to the stimulated hemiretina, and the scores on this component were low for upper hemiretinal stimuli. These findings are in agreement with intracranially recorded evoked potential data and theoretical dipole source computations, and confirm a model of cortical neuronal generator processes whose locations and orientations in the hemisphere ipsilateral to the hemiretina stimulated are influenced not only by retinal stimulus location but also by stimulus size.

Brain↗
PubMed1981

Latent components of potentials evoked by visual stimuli in different retinal locations.

Visually evoked potentials to small patterned stimuli were recorded in an occipital row of five electrodes. The location of the flashed checkerboard stimuli of three different spatial frequencies varied in five steps from 5 degrees on the left to 5 degrees on the right hemiretina. Repeated recordings were obtained from seven healthy subjects and one Multiple Sclerosis patient. Stimulus location, electrode position and their interaction had stronger effects on the components derived from a principal components analysis than the spatial frequency. Components most significantly related to these spatial frequency or to an interaction between spatial frequency and other experimental conditions showed later peak latencies than those related to electrode position or stimulus location. This finding suggests a later or more sustained processing of pattern information. Discriminant analyses using the patient's component scores, separate principal components analysis, and the analysis of the patient's residual components all suggested major differences between the patient and the normals.

Adult↗
PubMed1980

Reference-free identification of components of checkerboard-evoked multichannel potential fields.

A method is proposed to determine components of evoked scalp potentials, in terms of times of occurrence (latency) and location on the scalp (topography). The scalp field distributions were evoked by checkerboard reversal and were recorded simultaneously in 47 channels. Component latencies are defined as times of maximal values of the electrical power of the evoked field (a measure of the amount of field relief); this measurement is independent of the choice of the reference electrode. In 10 subjects, two evoked components were found consistently: at 100 and at 140 msec. Plots of scalp locations of the extreme field values (i.e., reference-free data) at the occurrence times of the components showed occipitally positive and anteriorly negative extreme values at 100 msec, and vice versa at 140 msec. The occipital extreme values were surrounded by steep field gradients suggesting occipital generator processes. The polarity reversal of the evoked field distributions between 100 and 140 msec was a quick, jump-like location change of the extreme values in the field. The locations of the extreme field values were stable for long periods around peak times of the power curve. During these periods, the shape of the field remained constant (assessed by the average standard deviation of voltages per electrode between successive field distributions), suggesting also a stable localization of the generating process in depth. The field distributions tended to be concentric around the extreme field values. The major characteristics of the observed scalp fields showed no wave fronts, and no continuous 'traveling' of extreme values over larger distances.

Adult↗