Basic research and clinical aspects of the oscillatory potentials of the electroretinogram.

This paper reviews current knowledge concerning the oscillatory potentials (OPs) of the electroretinogram (ERG). The first section describes the basic characteristics of the OPs primarily studied in healthy subjects. The behavior of the OPs is different from the a- and b-waves, indicating separate mechanisms for generation of the OPs compared with the major components of the ERG. The second section deals with the present view of the origin of the OPs collected from experimental studies of the vertebrate retina, including the primate. Findings favor the conclusion that the bipolar (or interplexiform) cells are the probable generators of the OPs. The third section gives clinical examples of the sensitivity of OPs to early disturbances of retinal function in different eye diseases.