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Evoked potentials, III. The 3rd international symposium
Electroencephalography and clinical Neurophysiology, 1988, 7 1 : 4 7 4
474
Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland, Ltd.
Book Review edited by John R. Hughes and P.M. Rossini Evoked potentials, IlL The 3rd international symposium. - C. Barber and T. Blum (Eds.) (Butterworth, Boston, MA, 1987, 487 p., U.S. $98.00) This book derives from the successful Third International Evoked Potentials Symposium, held in Berlin in the Fall of 1986. There are 7 different sections and 68 chapters from 189 contributing authors. As in the previous volumes, summaries of major areas of interest by internationally renowned experts are included, followed by selected papers on specific topics that were delivered during the symposium. The first section is called background and perspective and here the first s u m m a r y is by Kimura et al. on the junctional potential. The contrast between the near- and far-field potential and its distribution and especially the effect of an abrupt dimensional change are summarized well in this chapter. For everyone involved in far-field recording this chapter can be considered required reading so that the reader can understand that certain abnormalities of EPs can result from changes only of the surrounding tissue. The next chapter is a novel s u m m a r y of AEPs by Jewett, who is credited with the discovery of the brain-stem AEP. In his usual inventive style the author provides his view of the field, the shoreline, the beach, changeable sands, soft and hard rocks to explain to the reader some of the solutions but mainly the different problems that remain in the field. Readers will find this chapter interesting, not only in its content but also in its style and perspective. The VEP is handled well by Bodis-Wollner who deals mainly with the foveal pattern response and especially with the N70, a neglected potential which this reviewer believes will receive more attention in the future. The fourth chapter on SEPs is by one of the world's experts, F. Mauguirre and his colleagues. With the use of data in all forms, including 8 pages of impressive colorful maps, the points are made with great clarity. The concluding point is on the need for the non-cephalic reference. McCallum then takes on the nearly impossible task of reviewing the ERP data, concluding appropriately that there "are as m a n y wave form variants as variations in experimental paradigms. 'Development changes' by Allison is a pleasure to read, since the data are so clearly summarized. His working hypothesis seems justified and is that changes in conduction are due to myelination during maturation and demyelination during aging. The penultimate chapter on mapping by L e h m a n n is by one of
the leading authorities in this field whose background and wisdom on all matters, including the reference electrode, are evident. The last chapter is on neuromagnetism written by K a u f m a n and Williamson, whose collaborative effort has established them as the leading authorities in this exciting new field. These latter 7 chapters are the best part of this book in the opinion of the reviewer, since each area of evoked potentials is summarized by a leading authority in a concise and clear manner. Section 2 is on auditory potentials and includes 12 chapters on the topic. Special attention m a y be given to the steady state (Picton), more on neuromagnetic studies (Haft and colleague) including a fascinating account of recording in the h u m a n fetus (Blum et al.), estimation of loudness levels (Thornton et al.) and on dementia (Goodin and Aminoff). Section 3 on the VEP, including 10 chapters, covers m a n y different topics from E R G to cortical wavelets from rats to man. Topics of particular attention include chapters by the Regans on tuning, by Onofrj et al. on stimulus specificity, Celesia et al. on E R G and VEP and finally on intraoperative monitoring by Harding and colleagues. The next section on SEP includes 13 chapters on m a n y different aspects, but the leading chapter by Rossini et al. attracted this reviewer's attention. The topic was the magnetic and the electrical responses in normal h u m a n s , discussing what each of these responses 'sees,' presented clearly by the authors. Cognitive function and multimodal application included chapters of varying topics and quality. The last section was on the very new area of evoked motor activity from magnetic brain stimulation. The 5 chapters here represent the first published effort to collect data from different investigators on this new technique. The great interest in this technique is shown by the fact that the same publisher is now preparing an entire book on this same topic. The reviewer would highly recommend this book to the neuroseientific c o m m u n i t y with special emphasis on the excellent review of the major areas of evoked potentials. T h e editors and the publisher have presented, as usual, an attractive product, carefully put together with only rare errors.
0168-5597/88/$03.50 © 1988 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland, Ltd.
John R. Hughes
University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 (U.S.A.)
474
Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland, Ltd.
Book Review edited by John R. Hughes and P.M. Rossini Evoked potentials, IlL The 3rd international symposium. - C. Barber and T. Blum (Eds.) (Butterworth, Boston, MA, 1987, 487 p., U.S. $98.00) This book derives from the successful Third International Evoked Potentials Symposium, held in Berlin in the Fall of 1986. There are 7 different sections and 68 chapters from 189 contributing authors. As in the previous volumes, summaries of major areas of interest by internationally renowned experts are included, followed by selected papers on specific topics that were delivered during the symposium. The first section is called background and perspective and here the first s u m m a r y is by Kimura et al. on the junctional potential. The contrast between the near- and far-field potential and its distribution and especially the effect of an abrupt dimensional change are summarized well in this chapter. For everyone involved in far-field recording this chapter can be considered required reading so that the reader can understand that certain abnormalities of EPs can result from changes only of the surrounding tissue. The next chapter is a novel s u m m a r y of AEPs by Jewett, who is credited with the discovery of the brain-stem AEP. In his usual inventive style the author provides his view of the field, the shoreline, the beach, changeable sands, soft and hard rocks to explain to the reader some of the solutions but mainly the different problems that remain in the field. Readers will find this chapter interesting, not only in its content but also in its style and perspective. The VEP is handled well by Bodis-Wollner who deals mainly with the foveal pattern response and especially with the N70, a neglected potential which this reviewer believes will receive more attention in the future. The fourth chapter on SEPs is by one of the world's experts, F. Mauguirre and his colleagues. With the use of data in all forms, including 8 pages of impressive colorful maps, the points are made with great clarity. The concluding point is on the need for the non-cephalic reference. McCallum then takes on the nearly impossible task of reviewing the ERP data, concluding appropriately that there "are as m a n y wave form variants as variations in experimental paradigms. 'Development changes' by Allison is a pleasure to read, since the data are so clearly summarized. His working hypothesis seems justified and is that changes in conduction are due to myelination during maturation and demyelination during aging. The penultimate chapter on mapping by L e h m a n n is by one of
the leading authorities in this field whose background and wisdom on all matters, including the reference electrode, are evident. The last chapter is on neuromagnetism written by K a u f m a n and Williamson, whose collaborative effort has established them as the leading authorities in this exciting new field. These latter 7 chapters are the best part of this book in the opinion of the reviewer, since each area of evoked potentials is summarized by a leading authority in a concise and clear manner. Section 2 is on auditory potentials and includes 12 chapters on the topic. Special attention m a y be given to the steady state (Picton), more on neuromagnetic studies (Haft and colleague) including a fascinating account of recording in the h u m a n fetus (Blum et al.), estimation of loudness levels (Thornton et al.) and on dementia (Goodin and Aminoff). Section 3 on the VEP, including 10 chapters, covers m a n y different topics from E R G to cortical wavelets from rats to man. Topics of particular attention include chapters by the Regans on tuning, by Onofrj et al. on stimulus specificity, Celesia et al. on E R G and VEP and finally on intraoperative monitoring by Harding and colleagues. The next section on SEP includes 13 chapters on m a n y different aspects, but the leading chapter by Rossini et al. attracted this reviewer's attention. The topic was the magnetic and the electrical responses in normal h u m a n s , discussing what each of these responses 'sees,' presented clearly by the authors. Cognitive function and multimodal application included chapters of varying topics and quality. The last section was on the very new area of evoked motor activity from magnetic brain stimulation. The 5 chapters here represent the first published effort to collect data from different investigators on this new technique. The great interest in this technique is shown by the fact that the same publisher is now preparing an entire book on this same topic. The reviewer would highly recommend this book to the neuroseientific c o m m u n i t y with special emphasis on the excellent review of the major areas of evoked potentials. T h e editors and the publisher have presented, as usual, an attractive product, carefully put together with only rare errors.
0168-5597/88/$03.50 © 1988 Elsevier Scientific Publishers Ireland, Ltd.
John R. Hughes
University of Illinois Medical Center, Chicago, IL 60612 (U.S.A.)