Understanding Visual Evoked Potential (VEP) Visual evoked potential measures the electrical response in the occipital cortex triggered by a visual stimulus, assessing signal transmission from eye to brain. It evaluates central vision but cannot pinpoint specific pathway issues if abnormalities arise. In clinical settings, VEP helps determine levels of vision using checkerboard stimuli corresponding to different acuity levels.
Clinical Applications and Limitations of VEP By summing multiple trials, background noise is canceled out to isolate evoked potentials like positive deflections at 100 milliseconds. Flash or patterned stimuli can reveal discrepancies between claimed and actual visual abilities; normal results disproving organic causes while abnormal ones suggest them without confirmation. However, it’s not useful for diagnosing known optic neuropathies or extensive conditions beyond latency measurements indicating demyelination.