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Respiratory-related evoked potentials in children with life-threatening asthma

P W Davenport1, M Cruz, A A Stecenko

  • 1Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32610, USA. DAVENPORTP@MAIL.VETMED.UFL.EDU

American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine
|June 14, 2000
PubMed

Insights

Life-threatening asthma (LTA) in children may impair the neural processing of respiratory load sensation. Some LTA children exhibit absent respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs) during inspiratory occlusion, suggesting altered sensory pathways.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Respiratory Medicine
  • Pediatrics

Background:

  • Respiratory-related evoked potentials (RREPs) reflect neural processing of respiratory load.
  • Children with life-threatening asthma (LTA) often have reduced sensitivity to inspiratory load.
  • Altered sensory processing may contribute to the pathophysiology of LTA.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate RREPs in children with LTA during inspiratory occlusion.
  • To determine if a subpopulation of LTA children exhibits abnormal RREPs.
  • To explore the relationship between RREP abnormalities and impaired load sensation in LTA.

Main Methods:

  • RREPs were recorded from the somatosensory cortex (C(Z)-C(3) and C(Z)-C(4)) in three groups: LTA asthmatic, control asthmatic, and nonasthmatic children.
  • Inspiratory occlusion and control trials were conducted.
  • Evoked potentials were analyzed by subtracting averaged control trials from averaged occlusion trials.

Main Results:

  • The RREP P(1) peak was consistently observed in nonasthmatic and control asthmatic children.
  • RREPs were absent in 6 of 11 LTA patients.
  • No significant differences in P(1) peak latency or amplitude were found when RREPs were present across groups.

Conclusions:

  • RREPs elicited by inspiratory occlusion are generally present in nonasthmatic and control asthmatic children.
  • A subpopulation of LTA children demonstrates an absence of RREPs, indicating potential neural processing deficits.
  • These findings suggest altered neural processing of inspiratory load information in some children with LTA.

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