title: Intracranial stimulation of the facial nerve: normative values with magnetic coil in 240 nerves.
abstract: This study was aimed at defining normative values of latency and amplitude of the compound muscle action potential (CMAP) from the orbicularis oculi muscle, obtained by transcranial magnetic stimulation. We evaluated the dependence of latency and amplitude on the age of the subjects, in order to calculate cut-off values for each age decade. A total of 120 healthy normal subjects, aged 15-78 years, were studied. CMAP from the orbicularis oculi muscle, pars inferior, was excited by means of transcranial magnetic stimulation of the homolateral scalp. A suitable mathematical model was developed to evaluate the mean variation of the latency and amplitude of CMAP for each age decade in the studied population. Mean values were, respectively, 4.62+/-0.40 ms for latency and 4.17+/-0.72 mV for amplitude. We found an increase in latency of about 0.12 ms for every ten years, that became 0.15 ms if referring only to subjects over 20 years, and a decrease in amplitude of 0.18 mV each ten years. Normality interval values for the latency and amplitude were calculated for each age decade. Our data, obtained in a representative population for range of age of evaluated subjects, provide normality values and variability coefficients useful for future confronting works.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neuroscience, University of Turin, Via Cherasco 15, I-10126 Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Cocito
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Isoardo
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Migliaretti
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ciaramitaro
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rota
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Poglio
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bergamasco
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D005154:Facial Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008954:Models, Biological; D009801:Oculomotor Muscles / Q000502:physiology*; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology