Science Inventory

SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS

Citation:

Dyer, R. SOMATOSENSORY EVOKED POTENTIALS. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, D.C., EPA/600/D-85/137 (NTIS PB85233344), 1985.

Description:

Somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) have been used by neuroscientists for many years. The versatility of the method is attested to be the differing purposes to which it has been applied. Initially, SEPs were used to uncover basic principles of sensory processing. A casual glance at the literature might suggest that SEPs fell from favor and that over the last decade there has been a renaissance in their use (and the use of evoked potentials in general). More careful scrutiny indicates that use of the method has continued to increase at a steady rate, but that the arenas in which it has been used have shifted from those of basic to those of applied problems. With the advent of more advanced microelectrode techniques, SEPs were displaced from the basic neuroscience laboratory to the clinic, where they have been used by psychologists and neurologists. In turn, the apparent utility of the SEP in addressing applied problems has lead to a renewed interest in some of the basic mechanisms underlying the recorded responses. The goal of the present chapter is threefold. First, to provide a critical summary of the contemporary uses of SEPs; second, to explore the potential utility of SEPs in neurotoxicology; and third, to identify some of the issues which must be addressed in order to perform good neurotoxicological experiments using SEPs.

Record Details:

Record Type:DOCUMENT( REPORT )
Product Published Date:12/31/1985
Record Last Revised:12/22/2005
Record ID: 44547