Tests that assess the ability of information to travel to the brain. There are three commonly used evoked response tests: visual evoked response (VER), which assesses how well information travels from the eyes to the occipital lobes (visual cortex); brain stem auditory evoked response (BAER), which assesses neurological function and diagnoses nervous system abnormalities and hearing loss; and somatosensory evoked potential (SSEP), which assesses how information travels from the hands or feet through the spinal cord and to the brain.
Evoked responses refer to the charting of electrical brain activity in reaction to a specific external trigger. The process for obtaining these evoked responses is akin to that used in electroencephalography (EEG).
This method is employed to evaluate the performance of different sensory systems, including sight, hearing, or touch. The derived data can help uncover irregularities stemming from inflammation, pressure due to a tumor, or other disorders. Moreover, it can assist in affirming a diagnosis of multiple sclerosis.