Pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential amplitudes are influenced by different stimulus field sizes and scotomata.

The pattern electroretinogram and the visual evoked potential were recorded simultaneously with various stimulus fields and artificial scotomata of increasing sizes. In contrast to an earlier study, a smaller check size (20') and two stimulus field sizes (20 degrees x 20 degrees and 10 degrees x 10 degrees) for the scotomata were used. With a concentric decreasing stimulus field, a reduction of both the pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential was found. Both showed a simultaneous reduction of amplitudes, but, compared with the amplitude in the full field, the reduction was more extensive for the pattern electroretinogram at each test field size. This implies a greater contribution to the pattern electroretinogram from more eccentric retinal parts. An artificial central scotoma of increasing size in the 20 degrees x 20 degrees field had less influence on the pattern electroretinogram than on the visual evoked potential. The percentage amplitude loss of the visual evoked potential was more pronounced. The visual evoked potential was eventually abolished by a scotoma size from 10 degrees x 10 degrees upward, while the pattern electroretinogram was still registrable. When scotomata of similar size were introduced in a smaller (10 degrees x 10 degrees) field, percentage pattern electroretinogram and visual evoked potential amplitude losses were less separated than in a larger (20 degrees x 20 degrees) test field.