Fallgatter Andreas J, Ehlis Ann-Christine, Ringel Thomas M, Herrmann Martin J
Psychiatric Neurophysiology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Fuechsleinstrasse 15, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany.
Int J Psychophysiol. 2005 Apr;56(1):37-43. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2004.09.007. Epub 2004 Nov 5.
Recently, a new electrophysiological method for the assessment of vagus nerve function in the brainstem has been proposed in healthy participants. Before this procedure may be applied to patients with neurodegenerative diseases, its feasibility in elderly healthy participants and a possible age effect on the measurement have to be investigated. The vagus sensory evoked potentials (VSEP) after transcutaneous electric stimulation of the sensory auricular branch of the vagus nerve have been assessed in healthy younger and elderly participants. VSEP measured as far field potentials probably originating in vagus nuclei in the brainstem were recorded in 20 of 22 younger as well as in 39 of 43 elderly healthy participants. Latencies were significantly longer in the elderly as compared to the younger participants, while no clear age effects on amplitudes were identified. These results indicate that the assessment of VSEP is feasible also in elderly healthy participants. This is a prerequisite for testing this method in elderly patients with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer and Parkinson disease as a noninvasive tool to detect an affection of the brainstem nuclei of the vagus nerve early in their course.
最近，在健康受试者中提出了一种评估脑干迷走神经功能的新电生理方法。在将此程序应用于神经退行性疾病患者之前，必须研究其在老年健康受试者中的可行性以及测量中可能存在的年龄效应。已对健康的年轻和老年受试者进行了经皮电刺激迷走神经耳支后的迷走神经感觉诱发电位（VSEP）评估。在22名年轻健康受试者中的20名以及43名老年健康受试者中的39名中记录到了可能起源于脑干迷走神经核的远场电位形式的VSEP。与年轻受试者相比，老年受试者的潜伏期明显更长，而未发现年龄对波幅有明显影响。这些结果表明，VSEP评估在老年健康受试者中也是可行的。这是在患有阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病等神经退行性疾病的老年患者中测试此方法的先决条件，该方法可作为一种非侵入性工具，在疾病早期检测迷走神经脑干核是否受到影响。
