Plethysmographic study in the patients with non-specific complaints in the head-cervico-brachial regions: with a special reference to laterality in vasomotor responses and "cervical sympathetic dysharmony".

Bilateral vasomotor responses and sweat gland activities under the control of cervical sympathetic nerves were examined simultaneously by photo-electric plethysmogram (PTG) and skin potential reflex (SPR) in patients with nonspecific complaints in the head-cervicobrachial regions such as headache, dizziness, tinnitus, pain or stiffness of the neck and shoulder, and dullness or numbness of the arms. 137 out of those 355 patients (38.6%) were revealed to have laterality in vasomotor responses, but it was only 3 in 60 normal control subjects (5%) that showed the laterality in vasomotor responses. These results supported the assumption that the cervical sympathetic dysharmony--imbalance between the right and left sides of cervical sympathetic functions--played an important role in causing their various vegetative complaints in the head-cervicobrachial regions.