The VESPA: A method for the rapid estimation of a visual evoked potential

Edmund C. Lalor; Barak A. Pearlmutter; Richard B. Reilly; Gary McDarby; John J. Foxe

doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.05.054

The VESPA: A method for the rapid estimation of a visual evoked potential

Edmund C. Lalor, Barak A. Pearlmutter, Richard B. Reilly, Gary McDarby, John J. Foxe

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

106 Scopus citations

Abstract

Faster and less obtrusive means for measuring a Visual Evoked Potential would be valuable in clinical testing and basic neuroscience research. This study presents a method for accomplishing this by smoothly modulating the luminance of a visual stimulus using a stochastic process. Despite its visually unobtrusive nature, the rich statistical structure of the stimulus enables rapid estimation of the visual system's impulse response. The profile of these responses, which we call VESPAs, correlates with standard VEPs, with r = 0.91, p < 10^- 28 for the group average. The time taken to obtain a VESPA with a given signal-to-noise ratio compares favorably to that required to obtain a VEP with a similar level of certainty. Additionally, we show that VESPA responses to two independent stimuli can be obtained simultaneously, which could drastically reduce the time required to collect responses to multiple stimuli. The new method appears to provide a useful alternative to standard VEP methods, and to have potential application both in clinical practice and to the study of sensory and perceptual functions.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	1549-1561
Number of pages	13
Journal	NeuroImage
Volume	32
Issue number	4
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.05.054
State	Published - Oct 1 2006
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

EEG
Experimental design
Magnocellular
Striate cortex
System identification
Visual evoked potential

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Neurology
Cognitive Neuroscience

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10.1016/j.neuroimage.2006.05.054

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title = "The VESPA: A method for the rapid estimation of a visual evoked potential",

abstract = "Faster and less obtrusive means for measuring a Visual Evoked Potential would be valuable in clinical testing and basic neuroscience research. This study presents a method for accomplishing this by smoothly modulating the luminance of a visual stimulus using a stochastic process. Despite its visually unobtrusive nature, the rich statistical structure of the stimulus enables rapid estimation of the visual system's impulse response. The profile of these responses, which we call VESPAs, correlates with standard VEPs, with r = 0.91, p < 10- 28 for the group average. The time taken to obtain a VESPA with a given signal-to-noise ratio compares favorably to that required to obtain a VEP with a similar level of certainty. Additionally, we show that VESPA responses to two independent stimuli can be obtained simultaneously, which could drastically reduce the time required to collect responses to multiple stimuli. The new method appears to provide a useful alternative to standard VEP methods, and to have potential application both in clinical practice and to the study of sensory and perceptual functions.",

keywords = "EEG, Experimental design, Magnocellular, Striate cortex, System identification, Visual evoked potential",

author = "Lalor, {Edmund C.} and Pearlmutter, {Barak A.} and Reilly, {Richard B.} and Gary McDarby and Foxe, {John J.}",

note = "Funding Information: Support for this work was provided by the Irish Higher Education Authority (grant HEA-r9310 to RBR), Science Foundation Ireland (grant 00/PI.1/C067 to the Hamilton Institute at NUI Maynooth), and the US National Institute of Mental Health (grant NIMH-MH65350 to JJF). We thank Dr. Patrick Brennan for valuable assistance and Santiago Jaramillo for helpful discussions. ",

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AU - Foxe, John J.

N1 - Funding Information: Support for this work was provided by the Irish Higher Education Authority (grant HEA-r9310 to RBR), Science Foundation Ireland (grant 00/PI.1/C067 to the Hamilton Institute at NUI Maynooth), and the US National Institute of Mental Health (grant NIMH-MH65350 to JJF). We thank Dr. Patrick Brennan for valuable assistance and Santiago Jaramillo for helpful discussions.

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N2 - Faster and less obtrusive means for measuring a Visual Evoked Potential would be valuable in clinical testing and basic neuroscience research. This study presents a method for accomplishing this by smoothly modulating the luminance of a visual stimulus using a stochastic process. Despite its visually unobtrusive nature, the rich statistical structure of the stimulus enables rapid estimation of the visual system's impulse response. The profile of these responses, which we call VESPAs, correlates with standard VEPs, with r = 0.91, p < 10- 28 for the group average. The time taken to obtain a VESPA with a given signal-to-noise ratio compares favorably to that required to obtain a VEP with a similar level of certainty. Additionally, we show that VESPA responses to two independent stimuli can be obtained simultaneously, which could drastically reduce the time required to collect responses to multiple stimuli. The new method appears to provide a useful alternative to standard VEP methods, and to have potential application both in clinical practice and to the study of sensory and perceptual functions.

AB - Faster and less obtrusive means for measuring a Visual Evoked Potential would be valuable in clinical testing and basic neuroscience research. This study presents a method for accomplishing this by smoothly modulating the luminance of a visual stimulus using a stochastic process. Despite its visually unobtrusive nature, the rich statistical structure of the stimulus enables rapid estimation of the visual system's impulse response. The profile of these responses, which we call VESPAs, correlates with standard VEPs, with r = 0.91, p < 10- 28 for the group average. The time taken to obtain a VESPA with a given signal-to-noise ratio compares favorably to that required to obtain a VEP with a similar level of certainty. Additionally, we show that VESPA responses to two independent stimuli can be obtained simultaneously, which could drastically reduce the time required to collect responses to multiple stimuli. The new method appears to provide a useful alternative to standard VEP methods, and to have potential application both in clinical practice and to the study of sensory and perceptual functions.

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The VESPA: A method for the rapid estimation of a visual evoked potential

Abstract

Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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