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We recently recorded somatosensory evoked fields (SEFs) elicited by compressing the glabrous skin of the finger and decompressing it by using a photosensor trigger. In that study, the equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) for these evoked fields appeared to be physiologically similar to the ECDs of P30m in median nerve stimulation. We sought to determine the relations of evoked fields elicited by mechanically stimulating the glabrous skin of the great toe and those of electrically produced P40m. We studied SEFs elicited by mechanical and electrical stimulations from the median and tibial nerves. The orientations of dipoles from the mechanical stimulations were from anterior-to-posterior, similar to the orientations of dipoles for P30m. The direction of the dipole around the peak of N20m from median nerve electrical stimulation was opposite to these directions. The orientations of dipoles around the peak of P40m by tibial nerve stimulation were transverse, whereas those by the compression and decompression stimulation of the toe were directed from anterior-to-posterior. The concordance of the orientations in ECDs for evoked fields elicited by mechanical and electrical stimulations suggests that the ECDs of P40m are physiologically similar to those of P30m but not to those of N20m. The discrepancy in orientations in ECDs for evoked field elicited by these stimulations in the lower extremity suggests that electrical and compression stimulations elicit evoked fields responding to fast surface rubbing stimuli and/or stimuli to the muscle and joint., ((c) 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.)

Objective: To determine whether patients with cervical dystonia have electrophysiological signs of disinhibition in the somatosensory cortex by recording high-frequency oscillations (HFOs) in somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs)., Methods: HFOs were recorded in 13 patients and 10 age-matched control subjects, and the data were analyzed statistically by paired comparison and by Pearson's correlation., Results: In patients with cervical dystonia, the early part of HFOs showed a significant decrease in amplitude, and the amplitude ratios of both early and late parts of HFOs/N20 potential were also significantly decreased. The amplitudes of HFOs and N20 potential were linearly correlated in the control subjects but not in dystonia patients., Conclusions: Patients with cervical dystonia may suffer from a disturbance of inhibition in the sensory cortex. This disturbance is reflected by decreased HFO amplitude, representing decreased activities of inhibitory interneurons in area 3b.

We studied the cortical evoked fields elicited by the examiner's touch on glabrous skin of the subject's index finger. Two main components of evoked fields were elicited, and these dipoles were located in the primary somatosensory cortex contralateral to the side of the subject's index finger touched by the examiner. When the timing of removal of the examiner's finger triggered the data acquisition using the photosensor, the strength of the dipole from early evoked fields was stronger than that from late ones. We showed that these evoked fields were elicited by removal and touch of the examiner's finger respectively in response to the mechanical compression and decompression of the skin.

We have summarized the history of electroencephalography(EEG) since 1875, when a paper by Richard Caton was published describing the first EEG recordings in animals. Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) were recorded by George Dawson in 1951. Thereafter, SEPs were developed for clinical use with other evoked potentials such as auditory evoked potentials(VEPs). To understand evoked potentials, related mechanism of induction of far-fields-potentials(FFP) following stimulation of the median nerve has been discussed. SEPs consisted of P9, N9, N10, P11, N11, N13, P13, P14, N18, N20 and P20/P22. Scalp recorded P9 FFP arises from the distal portion of the branchial plexus as reflected by N9 stationary negative potential recorded over the stimulated arm. Cervical N11 and N13 arise from the root entry zone and dorsal horn, respectively. Scalp recorded P13, P14 and N18 FFP originate from the brainstem. In this communication, magnetoencephalography(MEG) and results of one of our recent studies on somatosensory evoked fields(SEFs) are also discussed. One of the important features of MEG is that magnetic signals detected outside the head arise mainly from cortical currents tangential to the skull. Since the net postsynaptic current follows the orientation of cortical pyramidal cells, the MEG signals mainly reflect activity of the fissural cortex, whereas radial current may remain undetected. In our study, we demonstrated SEFs elicited by compression and decompression of a subject's glabrous skin by a human operator. Their dipoles were tangentially oriented from the frontal lobe to parietal lobe.

Somatosensory evoked fields were recorded to determine the effects of movement and attention on high-frequency oscillations during active finger movements of the ipsilateral and contralateral sides in response to electrical stimulation of the median nerve. A whole-scalp neuromagnetometer was used to record somatosensory evoked fields from eight subjects following electric median nerve stimulation at the wrist. The following three sessions were performed: (1). rest, (2). movement of fingers on the ipsilateral in response to stimulation and (3). movement of fingers on the contralateral in response to stimulation. The somatosensory evoked fields with a wide-bandpass (0.1-1000 Hz) were recorded. High-frequency oscillations and N20m were separated by subsequent high-pass (> 300 Hz) and low-pass (< 300 Hz) filtering. The maximum amplitude of high-frequency oscillations decreased during finger movements accompanying a decrease in somatosensory N20m dipole strength. Activation of the motor cortex appeared to suppress both the amplitude of high-frequency oscillations and the N20m dipole strength.

When stimulating the mixed nerve to record evoked potential, both sensory and motor fibers are activated before entering the spinal cord. The N10 potential has been described as an antidromic motor evoked potential based on results obtained by recording at the anterior midneck. In the present study, we examined the changes in latencies of Erb's potential, N10, and N13 by stimulating the median nerve distally at the wrist and proximally at the elbow. The conduction velocity of N10 calculated by the difference between N10 latencies at the two stimulation points was consistent with motor conduction velocity, although N13 conduction velocity estimated by the same method reflected a sensory conduction velocity. A positive relation was also observed between the indirect latency from the stimulation point to the anterior root as calculated using the equation (F - M - 1) / 2 (ms) and the direct latency to the negative peak of the N10 potential. Our data support the notion that N10 represents antidromic motor potential originating in the spinal entry zone of the anterior root.