Cortical visual evoked potentials during the sleep-wakefulness cycle in the freely moving cat. A dynamic study.

The dynamic features of visual evoked potentials, elicited by a light emitting diode chronically implanted in the frontal sinus of the freely moving cat, were studied during sleep stages by means of calculation of the power spectra of the EEG prior to the stimulus and the poststimulus EEG which contain the single evoked potential. The statistical analysis between mean frequencies from both EEG prior to the stimulus and single evoked potential, within each sleep stage, showed that the main changes occurred during slow sleep, with a significant increase in the percentage of the alpha band. These results are interpreted as a partial desynchronization evoked by the visual stimulation during the synchronized phase of sleep.