Abstract
Somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) recorded in the clinical laboratory are dependent on stimulation of the large afferent fibers of peripheral nerves (Pratt et al., 1979; Starr et al., 1981; Cohen et al., 1985). Following stimulation of peripheral nerves in the arms or legs, SEPs can be reproducibly recorded over the spine and scalp. In the spinal cord, the SEP is conducted primarily through the dorsal columns. Selective sectioning of the dorsal columns in experimental animals results in the scalp SEP being markedly attenuated or abolished (Cusick et al., 1979). If only the dorsal columns are left intact, the scalp SEP remains relatively unaffected. In humans, loss of posterior column function is associated with abnormality of the SEP (Giblin, 1964; Halliday, 1967). Extralemniscal pathways may mediate some long latency scalp SEP components (Martin et al., 1980).
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Seyal, M. (1990). The Generators of the Human Spinal Somatosensory-Evoked Potentials. In: Salzman, S.K. (eds) Neural Monitoring. Neurotrauma. Humana Press, Totowa, NJ. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0491-6_2
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4612-0491-6_2
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