Discovery of ABR and VEP

Their contributions to clinical neurophysiology

Abstract

Jewett et al. (1970) were the first to record auditory brainstem responses (ABR) over the human scalp. Halliday et al. (1972) were the first to report the usefulness of visual evoked potentials (VEPs) from pattern-reversal stimulation in the evaluation of optic neuritis in multiple sclerosis (MS). This paper outlines the contribution of these two techniques to clinical neurophysiology. With the advent of ABR, the auditory pathway of the brainstem can now be objectively assessed and has become the basic test for determining hearing ability and assessing brainstem function. ABR has also contributed significantly to the development of short latency somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs), which are far-field potentials. This made it possible to record peripheral nerve and spinal cord potentials from over the human scalp. While flash VEPs were difficult to apply clinically because of waveform variability in the same individual and between individuals, the pattern VEPs of Halliday et al. were recorded stably and became a diagnostic criterion for MS. Subsequently, from the perspective of parallel visual information processing, the authors developed a multimodality VEP. This enabled the pathological evaluation of neuropsychiatric disorders. As those involved in clinical neurophysiology, we should not forget the original ideas of our predecessors and hope to develop techniques that surpass them.