A principal component analysis of multifocal pattern reversal VEP

Multifocal visual evoked potentials (mfVEP) were recorded with three channels from 31 control subjects. A principal component analysis was applied to all local responses. The first principal component reversed polarity above and below the horizontal meridian in the case of the midline channel and across the vertical meridian in the case of the lateral channel. In addition, the first principal components of the responses around the vertical meridian were reversed in polarity compared to those around the horizontal meridian, consistent with the region near the vertical meridian lying outside the calcarine fissure. A model was proposed that allowed for the construction of a coronal section of V1 based on the distribution of the first principal component. This approach provides a means of deriving a V1 component from mfVEP recordings with only three recording channels.