Simplified recording technique for the identification of inspiratory premotor potentials in humans

Inspiratory premotor potentials reflect the involvement of premotor cortical networks in the compensation of mechanical respiratory loading. Electromagnetic pollution and movement artefacts make them difficult to record, particularly in clinical environment. In 7 healthy subjects, we tested a simplified recording setup (single vs. linked earlobe reference, bandwidth restriction from 0.05-500 to 0.1-500 Hz) to identify premotor potentials during volitional inspiratory manoeuvres. Pre-triggered ensemble averaging of Cz EEG epochs starting 2.5 s before the onset of inspiration was used to identify the potentials. The simplified setup reliably detected the potentials identified by the conventional setup (Cohen's Kappa score of 1). It slightly underestimated the slope of the potentials (P=0.0156). In conclusion, using a single earlobe reference and a restricted filtering bandwidth does not impair the detection of inspiratory premotor potentials. This could make the study of respiratory premotor potentials easier in difficult clinical environments.