Somatosensory Evoked Potential Model for Assessment of Nerve Regeneration

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Abstract

Electrophysiological studies are commonly used to evaluate nerve regeneration following repair or to simply determine the functional integrity of peripheral nerve and central neural structures in large animal models. Most often used large animals for nerve repair studies include cats, dogs, primates, gouts, and sheep. The vast majority of authors use electrophysiological methods to assess nerve regeneration including maximal nerve conduction velocity (NCV) and somatosensory evoked potential (SEPs), both spinal and cortical recorded. This chapter outlines a method to measure NCV and cortical SEPs in a sheep following median nerve stimulation. In addition, special anesthetic considerations, animal preparation, and common pitfalls that may be encounter during measurements are described.

Keywords

Assessment Experimental model Nerve Regeneration Somatosensory evoked potential 
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Copyright information

© Springer-Verlag London 2015

Authors and Affiliations

  1. 1.Department of Plastic SurgeryCleveland ClinicClevelandUSA
  2. 2.Biomedical Engineering ConsultantUniversity of IllinoisChicagoUSA

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