Gender differences and correlates of visual evoked potential parameters with head circumference: A comparative analysis.

Background: Evoked potentials are electrical events recorded in the cerebral cortex after stimulation of a sense organ. They are non-invasive studies used to assess visual conduction pathways through optic nerves and the brain. Visual evoked potentials (VEPs) are affected by physiological factors such as age, sex, visual acuity, head circumference, and pupillary size. VEPs are used to diagnose and assess retinal pathology in ophthalmology, neurological pathology affecting the optic nerve and/or brain. Aims and Objectives: The aim of the study was to investigate gender-related alteration in parameters of VEP, to obtain relationship between head circumference with latency and amplitude values of VEP parameters. To investigate whether gender, head size, or both considered as an important factor influencing VEPs parameters. Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study among 50 participants aged 19-29 with normal visual acuity and VEP recordings such as latencies and peak amplitude was performed using a RMS EMG EP Mark II machine. Results: The study examined the mean latencies for N75, P100, and N145 in the left and right eyes of 25 female and 25 male participants. No significant differences were found in N75, P100, and N145 latencies between genders. However, females showed slightly higher amplitude differences than males. In the right eye, females showed higher N75 latency and P100 latency, but no significant gender differences were found for P100 latency or N145 latency. The Pearson correlation coefficient showed weak correlations between head circumference and VEP parameters for females and males, while no significant correlations were observed for females. Conclusion: VEPs are sensitive tools for evaluating visual conduction pathways in eye disease patients. However, gender differences in VEP parameters were not significant in this study, and a negative correlation was found between head size and VEP amplitude. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]