title: Difficulties of motion-onset VEP interpretation in school-age children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  In adults, motion-onset visual evoked potentials (M-VEPs) with a dominant N2 peak represent a useful diagnostic tool. However, it is difficult to use this type of VEP in children because of the long maturation (up to 18 years) of M-VEPs, which is characterised by a gradual decrease in N2 peak latency and shape development. Moreover, in some children, M-VEPs are difficult to identify with standard stimuli.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested features of M-VEPs in 30 children (7-12 years) with the following set of standard stimuli used in our lab for examining adults ( https://web.lfhk.cuni.cz/elf ): low-contrast translation motion (TM) and expansion/contraction motion (ExCoM) in full field and in periphery (with central 20° masked). In 16 children, a high-contrast TM was also tested.
  
  
  RESULTS
  With standard (low-contrast) stimuli, a common M-VEP to TM and to ExCoM was detected in 77 and 83 % of children, respectively. The M-VEPs to ExCoM in the periphery were detected in only 43 % of children. An abnormal dominant P1 peak was found in 9 % of VEPs to TM, 12 % of VEPs to full-field ExCoM and 14 % of VEPs to peripheral ExCoM. The M-VEPs to all low-contrast stimuli displayed large inter-individual latency variability (N2 peak latency differed for more than 100 ms). High contrast (more suitable for the non-mature magnocellular pathway) shortened M-VEP latencies and improved amplitudes.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings show that the maturation of motion perception in children is inter-individually variable, which limits the diagnostic use of M-VEPs.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pathophysiology, Faculty of Medicine in Hradec Kralove, Charles University in Prague, Simkova 870, 500 38, Hradec Kralove, Czech Republic, kubova@lfhk.cuni.cz.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Kubova
authors.forename: Miroslav
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kuba
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kremlacek
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Langrova
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Szanyi
authors.forename: Frantisek
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Vit
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Chutna
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D015350:Contrast Sensitivity / Q000502:physiology; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D005123:Eye / Q000254:growth & development; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009039:Motion Perception / Q000502:physiology*; D012684:Sensory Thresholds / Q000502:physiology; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology