Intermittent Photic Stimulation
Encyclopedia
In medicine, Intermittent Photic Stimulation, or IPS, is a form of visual stimulation used in conjunction with electroencephalography
to investigate anomalous brain activity triggered by specific visual stimuli, such as flashing lights or patterns.
IPS and EEGs are often used to diagnose conditions such as photosensitive epilepsy
. The field is relatively new and the details of use of IPS have not been widely standardized. IPS is often used in conjunction with other controllable generators of visual stimuli, such as low-level visual stimulation LLVS.
Photic stimulation may also be used to elicit myoclonus, especially cortical reflex myoclonus when present in photo-sensitive forms.
IPS may be used to stimulate the visual system for patients with amblyopia
. This system uses a visual stimulus that is usually red in color with a frequency of about 4 Hz to stimulate the neural pathway between the retina and the visual cortex. The objective is to improve the visual acuity
of an amblyopic (lazy) eye.
EEG
EEG commonly refers to electroencephalography, a measurement of the electrical activity of the brain.EEG may also refer to:* Emperor Entertainment Group, a Hong Kong-based entertainment company...
to investigate anomalous brain activity triggered by specific visual stimuli, such as flashing lights or patterns.
IPS and EEGs are often used to diagnose conditions such as photosensitive epilepsy
Photosensitive epilepsy
Photosensitive epilepsy is a form of epilepsy in which seizures are triggered by visual stimuli that form patterns in time or space, such as flashing lights, bold, regular patterns, or regular moving patterns.-Symptoms:...
. The field is relatively new and the details of use of IPS have not been widely standardized. IPS is often used in conjunction with other controllable generators of visual stimuli, such as low-level visual stimulation LLVS.
Photic stimulation may also be used to elicit myoclonus, especially cortical reflex myoclonus when present in photo-sensitive forms.
IPS may be used to stimulate the visual system for patients with amblyopia
Amblyopia
Amblyopia, also known as lazy eye, is a disorder of the visual system that is characterized by a vision deficiency in an eye that is otherwise physically normal, or out of proportion to associated structural abnormalities of the eye...
. This system uses a visual stimulus that is usually red in color with a frequency of about 4 Hz to stimulate the neural pathway between the retina and the visual cortex. The objective is to improve the visual acuity
Visual acuity
Visual acuity is acuteness or clearness of vision, which is dependent on the sharpness of the retinal focus within the eye and the sensitivity of the interpretative faculty of the brain....
of an amblyopic (lazy) eye.