Visual evoked potentials in the horse.

Summary

# Visual Evoked Potentials in the Horse: Establishing a Clinical Diagnostic Method Flash visual evoked potentials (FVEPs) measure electrical activity in the brain's visual cortex in response to light stimuli and are routinely used in human clinical practice to diagnose post-retinal visual pathway disorders, yet the technique had never been formally validated in equine patients until this work by Strøm and Ekesten. The researchers developed a standardised protocol for recording FVEPs non-invasively over the occipital cortex in horses under clinical conditions, establishing baseline waveform characteristics against which abnormal responses could be compared. Normal horses produced consistent, reproducible FVEP waveforms that could be reliably documented, providing the essential reference data needed for clinical application. This method potentially allows equine veterinarians and ophthalmologists to differentiate between retinal and post-retinal causes of visual impairment—a distinction that conventional examination and imaging often cannot clarify—enabling more targeted investigation of conditions affecting the optic nerve, chiasm, and visual cortex. For practitioners managing equine vision problems, FVEP testing represents a valuable additional diagnostic tool, particularly in cases where standard ophthalmic examination leaves the anatomical location of visual dysfunction unclear.

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Key Findings

• •Flash visual evoked potentials (FVEPs) can be recorded non-invasively from the equine occipital cortex using standard clinical equipment
• •FVEP methodology was successfully established and evaluated in normal horses for the first time
• •The technique allows assessment of visual function in post-retinal visual pathways without requiring behavioral responses from the horse

Conditions Studied

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