title: Normative data for the segmental acquisition of contact heat evoked potentials in cervical dermatomes.
abstract: Contact heat evoked potentials (CHEPs) represent a neurophysiological approach to assess conduction in the spinothalamic tract. The aim of this study was to establish normative values of CHEPs acquired from cervical dermatomes (C4, C6, C8) and examine the potential confounds of age, sex, and height. 101 (49 male) healthy subjects of three different age groups (18-40, 41-60, and 61-80 years) were recruited. Normal (NB, 35-52 °C) followed by increased (IB, 42-52 °C) baseline stimulation protocols were employed to record CHEPs. Multi-variate linear models were used to investigate the effect of age, sex, and height on the CHEPs parameters (i.e., N2 latency, N2P2 amplitude, rating of perceived intensity). Compared to NB, IB stimulation reduced latency jitter within subjects, yielding larger N2P2 amplitudes, and decreased inter-subject N2 latency variability. Age was associated with reduced N2P2 amplitude and prolonged N2 latency. After controlling for height, male subjects had significantly longer N2 latencies than females during IB stimulation. The study provides normative CHEPs data in a large cohort of healthy subjects from segmentally examined cervical dermatomes. Age and sex were identified as important factors contributing to N2 latency and N2P2 amplitude. The normative data will improve the diagnosis of spinal cord pathologies.
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.|ICORD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
authors.forename: Catherine R
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Jutzeler
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rosner
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Janosch
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rinert
authors.affiliation: ICORD, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.|School of Kinesiology, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada.
authors.forename: John L K
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Kramer
authors.affiliation: Spinal Cord Injury Center, University Hospital Balgrist, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Armin
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Curt
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001827:Body Height; D005073:Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D064368:Healthy Volunteers; D006358:Hot Temperature; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D010812:Physical Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D012737:Sex Factors; D012867:Skin / Q000294:innervation*; D013127:Spinal Nerves / Q000502:physiology*