Published online by Cambridge University Press: 18 September 2015
Evoked potentials are the electrical changes that occur in the brain in response to sensory stimuli. They can be recorded from scalp electrodes using sensitive amplifiers. Averaging techniques are necessary to separate the evoked potentials from other electrical activities. Evoked potentials can provide helpful information for the clinical evaluation of neurological patients. They can assess sensory function by demonstrating the brain's response to sensory stimuli. They can localize dysfunction in sensory pathways by showing where and when a sensory response becomes abnormal. They can identify abnormalities of sensory processing that are not apparent during the usual clinical examination. They can assess the extent of normal or abnormal function and thereby assist prognosis in patients with brain-damage.