Otolithic evoked potentials: a new technique for vestibular studies.
Evoked potentials, EP, are time-locked electroencephalographic voltages bearing temporal relation to an excitatory stimulus, recorded by scalp electrodes and an averaging computer. This paper reports the first apparent recording of otolithic EP. Thirty-nine students on a tilt table underwent head drop conditions stimulatory to the otolithic maculas. The wave-form obtained resembles neither auditory, visual, somatosensory or semicircular EP. Otolithic EP provide heretofore unavailable insights into the electrophysiology of the macular generators, VIII nerve, and related central processing.
D004566:Electrodes; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005071:Evoked Potentials; D006801:Humans; D010037:Otolithic Membrane / Q000502:physiology*; D011187:Posture; D012399:Rotation; D012444:Saccule and Utricle / Q000502:physiology*; D012665:Semicircular Canals / Q000502:physiology; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods