Oscillatory potentials and pattern electroretinogram: are they related?

The possible relationship between the pattern electroretinogram (ERG) and oscillatory potentials was investigated in two patients with night blindness. One patient had congenital stationary night blindness of Schubert-Bornschein type, and the other had Oguchi's disease. Both had normal visual acuity, normal mass photopic (cone) ERG and normal local macular ERG. In each patient, scotopic (rod) ERG after 20-minute dark adaptation was nonrecordable and the single bright flash ERG was of the negative type. The difference between the ERG pattern of the two patients was found in the oscillatory potentials. The patient with congenital stationary night blindness showed no oscillatory potentials, whereas the patient with Oguchi's disease had good oscillatory potentials. The pattern ERG in both patients was normal. Based on the data of these two patients, it was thought that the pattern ERG is not closely related to the oscillatory potentials and may have different mechanisms of generation.