AIM:To evaluate the effect of pattern visual evoked potentioals(P-VEP)in the detection of binocular vision in cat models of visual dysfunction.

METHODS: Eighteen 4-week-old healthy domestic cats were included. Twelve of them were used to establish models of monocular deprivation(6 cats)and optical strabismus(6 cats). The other six cats were used as controls. Their binocular visions were detected by P-VEP when they were 6, 10 and 16 weeks old, and the latency and the amplitude of P waves were recorded.

RESULTS: With increasing age, the latency got shortened and the amplitude got enlarged in the control group. The binocular summation was larger than the summation of monocular amplitude. In the monocular deprivation group, the cats had lower amplitude in the right eye than the left eye at 10 weeks old, and the difference was statistically significant(P<0.05); There was no statistically significant difference in the latency. When these cats were 16 weeks old, the latency and the amplitude of the right eye(the amblyopic eye)were obviously lower than the left eye, and partial binocular summation was shown. Compared with the control group, the latency and the amplitude of either eye in the optical strabismus group was not significantly different; however, the binocular summations were remarkably lower than either monocular amplitude when the cats were 10 weeks old and 16 weeks old.

CONCLUSION: P-VEP is an effective approach for evaluation of the binocular vision in animals.