Laboratory for Psychophysiology and Functional Imaging, Department of Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Julius-Maximilians-University, 97080 Würzburg, Germany.
J Neural Transm (Vienna). 2009 Oct;116(10):1237-42. doi: 10.1007/s00702-009-0282-1.
The method of vagus somatosensory evoked potentials (VSEP) was introduced to easily measure the activity of vagus brain stem nuclei. In Alzheimer's disease, this measure was characterized by longer latencies as compared to controls while amplitudes did not show statistical significant differences at frontal and central recording sites. Therefore, the influence of stimulation and recording parameters on amplitudes of VSEP were systematically examined. In 20 healthy participants, VSEP measurement was done by electrical stimulation of the cutaneous representation of the vagus nerve in the external auditory channel and recording of VSEP over the scalp. The optimum stimulation intensity is 8 mA without perception of pain. There is no effect of stimulation side or gender. Maximum VSEP amplitudes are detected at bipolar recordings comprising the electrode T4 without statistically significant differences of latencies, wave shape and polarity. Thus, recordings of future examinations should be performed at 8 mA including this temporal electrode position. The reason for focussing on brain stem evoked potentials is that recent work has accumulated evidence for this area being involved in early phases of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease. Improved methodological knowledge may facilitate the assessment of this non-invasive and cost-effective method in the early diagnosis of neurodegenerative disorders.
迷走体感诱发电位（VSEP）方法被引入，以方便测量迷走脑干核的活动。在阿尔茨海默病中，与对照组相比，这种测量的潜伏期较长，而在前额和中央记录部位，振幅没有显示出统计学上的显著差异。因此，系统地检查了刺激和记录参数对 VSEP 振幅的影响。在 20 名健康参与者中，通过刺激外耳通道中的迷走神经皮肤代表部位和头皮上的 VSEP 记录来进行 VSEP 测量。最佳刺激强度为 8 mA，没有疼痛感觉。刺激侧或性别没有影响。最大的 VSEP 振幅在包括电极 T4 的双极记录中检测到，潜伏期、波形状和极性没有统计学上的差异。因此，未来检查的记录应在 8 mA 下进行，包括这个颞部电极位置。关注脑干诱发电位的原因是，最近的工作积累了证据表明，该区域参与了神经退行性疾病的早期阶段，如阿尔茨海默病和帕金森病。改进的方法学知识可能有助于评估这种非侵入性和具有成本效益的方法在神经退行性疾病的早期诊断中的应用。
