Comparison of volume-conducted far-field short-latency glossopharyngeal nerve evoked potentials recorded from the scalp with similarly obtained near-field potentials from the solitary nucleus in dogs.

In 11 dogs, potentials recorded from the scalp and from the solitary nucleus after stimulation of the glossopharyngeal nerve were compared. The far-field potentials recorded from the scalp consisted of negativity, with peak latency of 2.10 to 3.45 milliseconds (mean, 2.93 milliseconds), followed by positivity, with peak latency of 3.20 to 5.95 milliseconds (mean, 4.86 milliseconds) and duration of 4.65 to 6.95 milliseconds (mean, 5.70 milliseconds). The near-field potentials recorded from the solitary nucleus consisted of positivity, with peak latency of 2.15 to 2.70 milliseconds (mean, 2.45 milliseconds), followed by negativity, with peak latency of 4.05 to 5.05 milliseconds (mean, 4.39 milliseconds) and duration of 4.45 to 5.80 milliseconds (mean, 5.21 milliseconds). Comparison of the far-field potentials (n = 10) with the near-field potentials (n = 5) indicated that polarity of the waves was reversed and that the first peak's latency was slightly (approx 0.5 milliseconds) longer in the scalp-recorded far-field potentials. Neither the difference in latency of the second peak nor the difference in its duration, measured from the onset of the potentials to the return to the baseline of the activity, was significant. The results strongly suggest that the response in the solitary nucleus evoked by electrical stimulation of the glossopharyngeal nerve is the source of at least part of the scalp-recorded responses to stimulation of the same nerve. The scalp-recorded far-field potentials could, therefore, be characterized as volume conducted from the evoked response in the solitary nucleus.