Recordability of the vestibular cerebellar evoked potential.

Abstract

Objective: Vestibular cerebellar evoked potentials (VsCEPs) are short-latency, vestibular-dependent responses recorded from electrodes placed superficially near the cerebellum. This study aimed to replicate previous findings and further explore optimal recording parameters for air-conducted VsCEPs.

Design: Responses were collected similarly to previous investigations for comparability. Two reference electrode locations (nose and contralateral earlobe) were compared.

Study sample: VsCEPs were measured in 15 healthy individuals without prior history of otologic or neurological impairment (mean age = 24.7; sd = 3.8, 2 male).

Results: We report a response rate that never exceeded 60%. Responses were most often present over the posterior scalp contralateral to the stimulated ear. A small but significant latency difference was found between reference locations. Larger amplitudes were observed over midline and contralateral areas for the left ear only. There was no difference in amplitude between reference locations.

Conclusions: The low recordability and high inter-subject variability suggests VsCEPs are not yet suitable for clinical application. However, results should be treated with caution as the stimulus level used in the current study was lower than previous investigations. Thus, we may be below the response threshold of subjects. Future investigations should explore other parameters to improve recordability and stability of VsCEPs.