Vestibular evoked myogenic potential (Vemp): evaluation of responses in normal subjects.
BACKGROUND
the Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potential (Vemp) is formed by myogenic neurophysiologic responses activated by high-intensity sound stimulation. The response is registered through surface electromyography of the cervical muscles during muscle contraction. The acoustic stimuli activate the saccular macula, the vestibular inferior nerve and the pathways related to the vestibule-spinal descendant nerves.


OBJECTIVE
to describe Vemp parameters in a normal population.


METHODS
thirty adults, 13 men and 17 women with no otoneurological complaints were selected. The stimuli were 200 tone burst, with a frequency of 1Hz and intensity of 118 dB Na, band-pass filter ranging from 10Hz to 1500Hz. The first potential biphasic P13-N23 wave was analyzed.


RESULTS
no significant difference was observed between the sides of stimulation in terms of latency and amplitude. However, a statistically significant difference was found for amplitude between genders.


CONCLUSIONS
Vemp demonstrated to be a reliable instrument in the clinical assessment of the vestibular function.
Felipe
Lilian
L
Serviço de Atenção à Saúde Auditiva, Hospital das Clínicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais. lilianfelipe@hotmail.com
Santos
Marco Aurélio Rocha
MA
Gonçalves
Denise Utsch
DU
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004576:Electromyography; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D009334:Neck Muscles / Q000294:innervation*; D015837:Vestibular Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis*; D014724:Vestibular Function Tests / Q000379:methods*; D014725:Vestibular Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult