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Plethysmographic study in the patients with non-specific complaints in the head-cervico-brachial regions: with a special reference to laterality in vasomotor responses and “cervical sympathetic dysharmony”

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Summary

Bilateral vasomotor responses and sweat gland activities under the control of cervical sympathetic nerves were examined simultaneously by photo-electric plethysmogram (PTG) and skin potential reflex (SPR) in patients with nonspecific complaints in the head-cervicobrachial regions such as headache, dizziness, tinnitus, pain or stiffness of the neck and shoulder, and dullness or numbness of the arms. 137 out of those 355 patients (38.6%) were revealed to have laterality in vasomotor responses, but it was only 3 in 60 normal control subjects (5%) that showed the laterality in vasomotor responses. These results supported the assumption that the cervical sympathetic dysharmony—imbalance between the right and left sides of cervical sympathetic functions—played an important role in causing their various vegetative complaints in the head-cervicobrachial regions.

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Katayama, Y., Yamazaki, K. & Nakazawa, T. Plethysmographic study in the patients with non-specific complaints in the head-cervico-brachial regions: with a special reference to laterality in vasomotor responses and “cervical sympathetic dysharmony”. J. Neural Transmission 38, 59–69 (1976). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01254140

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01254140

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