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Differential effects of duration for ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials evoked by air- and bone-conducted stimuli

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Abstract

We investigated the changes in cervical (cVEMP) and ocular (oVEMP) vestibular evoked myogenic potentials in response to differing stimulus durations. cVEMPs (n = 12 subjects) and oVEMPs (n = 13 subjects) were recorded using air-conducted (AC: 500 Hz) and bone-conducted (BC: 500 Hz) tone burst stimuli with durations varying from 2 to 10 ms. BC stimulation was applied both frontally and to the mastoid. AC cVEMPs showed an increase in amplitude with stimuli up to 6-ms duration associated with a prolonged latency, as previously reported. In contrast, AC oVEMP amplitude decreased with increasing stimulus duration. BC stimuli showed no significant increase in amplitude with increasing stimulus duration for either reflex using either location of stimulation. BC cVEMPS following forehead stimulation showed a significant decrease as duration increased, and BC oVEMPs to mastoid stimulation were largest at 2 ms and decreased thereafter. We conclude that an increase in amplitude with increasing stimulus duration, using 500 Hz stimuli, only occurs for AC cVEMPs. There is no definite benefit in using longer stimuli than 2 ms for BC or oVEMP studies. Shorter stimuli also minimise subject exposure to sound and vibration.

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Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Garnett Passe and Rodney Williams Memorial Foundation and the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Prince of Wales Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Louis J. Z. Lim, Sendhil Govender & James G. Colebatch

  2. Neuroscience Research Australia, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW, 2052, Australia

    Danielle L. Dennis & James G. Colebatch

  3. Institute of Neurological Sciences, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, Sydney, NSW, 2031, Australia

    James G. Colebatch

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  1. Louis J. Z. Lim
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  2. Danielle L. Dennis
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  3. Sendhil Govender
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  4. James G. Colebatch
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Correspondence to James G. Colebatch.

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Lim, L.J.Z., Dennis, D.L., Govender, S. et al. Differential effects of duration for ocular and cervical vestibular evoked myogenic potentials evoked by air- and bone-conducted stimuli. Exp Brain Res 224, 437–445 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3323-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-012-3323-1

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