Pneumatic evoked potential. Sensory or auditive potential?

S. Condé (1) , Christelle Créac'H (1) , Xavier Brun (2) , Richard Moreau (2) , Philippe Convers (1) , Roland Peyron (1)

1 CRNL - Centre de recherche en neurosciences de Lyon - Lyon Neuroscience Research Center
2 AMPERE - Ampère

In this study, evoked potentials (EPs) to a pneumatic, innocuous, and calibrated stimulation of the skin were recorded in 22 volunteers. A reproducible EP was recorded in 18 out of 22 subjects (82% of cases) with a mean latency of about 120-130 ms, and maximal amplitude at Cz. This EP actually consisted of two components, an auditory and a somatosensory one. Indeed, it was significantly decreased in amplitude, but did not disappear, when the noise generated by the air-puff was masked. We also verified that a stimulation close to the skin but not perceived by the subject was not associated with any EP. Conduction velocity between hand and shoulder was calculated around 25 m/s. This preliminary study demonstrates that pneumatic EPs can be recorded in normal volunteers.

Mots clés: Multimodal integration; Somatosensory system; Methodology; Pneumatic evoked potentials

Domaines: Neurosciences [q-bio.NC]; Automatique / Robotique

S. Condé, Christelle Créac'H, Xavier Brun, Richard Moreau, Philippe Convers, et al.. Pneumatic evoked potential. Sensory or auditive potential?. Clinical Neurophysiology, 2013, 43 (3), pp.189-195. ⟨10.1016/j.neucli.2013.05.002⟩. ⟨hal-00832336⟩