Abstract
OBJECTIVE:To determine the central tendency measures and variability of vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) with regard to the latency and wave amplitude when potentials are captured from the flexor muscles of the forearm.METHODS:Ten adult volunteers with normal hearing underwent examination of their forearm flexor muscles (right and left sides; 20 samples in total) for VEMP acquisition. To this end, 200 tone burst stimuli at a 500 Hz frequency and 95 dBnHL intensity were promediated.RESULTS:No statistical differences were observed in VEMP responses acquired from the right and left forearm flexor muscles concerning P34 and N44 latencies (p=0.32 and 0.90, respectively). The mean latency obtained for the P34 wave component was 34.9 ms (±2.6), with a lower limit equal to 29.3 and an upper limit equal to 40.4 ms. The average latency of the N44 wave component was 43.6 ms (±2.1), with a lower limit of 39.1 ms and an upper limit of 48.1 ms. The results were consistent and had low variability, and showed an average asymmetry index of 15.4 (±10.7). These findings indicate that potentials may be investigated in different age groups and in specific clinical populations, such as pathologies that may alter the neuronal transmission of the inferior vestibular pathway, especially when a longer portion is observed.CONCLUSIONS:VEMP recording from forearm flexors is both feasible and stable, with latency reference ranges between 29.3 and 40.4 ms for P34, and 39.1 and 48.1 ms for N44.
Highlights
Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) is a muscular reflex resulting from strong auditory stimulation that depends on the integrity of structures such as the vestibulospinal pathway and the effector muscles [1,4]
The muscles tested in this group were the brachioradialis and forearm flexors; the VEMP response obtained from the brachioradialis muscle in the pilot study was found to be less consistent than that acquired in the forearm flexors; this muscle group was chosen to be studied in this research
The normality limits for P and N latencies were calculated using the central limit theorem applied to normal distributions to identify the lower and upper limits, which define at least 95% of normal cases for the new measure described in Equation 1
Summary
To determine the central tendency measures and variability of vestibular evoked myogenic potential (VEMP) with regard to the latency and wave amplitude when potentials are captured from the flexor muscles of the forearm. METHODS: Ten adult volunteers with normal hearing underwent examination of their forearm flexor muscles (right and left sides; 20 samples in total) for VEMP acquisition. To this end, 200 tone burst stimuli at a 500 Hz frequency and 95 dBnHL intensity were promediated. The results were consistent and had low variability, and showed an average asymmetry index of 15.4 (±10.7) These findings indicate that potentials may be investigated in different age groups and in specific clinical populations, such as pathologies that may alter the neuronal transmission of the inferior vestibular pathway, especially when a longer portion is observed.
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