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Influence of parameter settings on paired-pulse-suppression in somatosensory evoked potentials: a systematic analysis
Oliver Höffken1, Janina Tannwitz, Melanie Lenz
1Department of Neurology, Ruhr-University Bochum, BG-Kliniken Bergmannsheil, Bochum, Germany. oliver.hoeffken@ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Objective:
Paired-pulse somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) are a common tool to investigate excitability in the human somatosensory cortex. Comparing literature about paired-pulse SEP, there is no standard set of stimulation parameters, while little is known about the influence of stimulation parameters on paired-pulse suppression.
Methods:
We analyzed changes of paired-pulse ratios by varying repetition rates from 1 to 9Hz, and using stimulus intensities of 250% of the sensory threshold and 100%, 120%, and 140% of the motor threshold, which are most frequently used in studies using paired-pulse SEPs.
Results:
We found a significant effect of repetition rate on paired-pulse suppression with increasing paired-pulse ratios from 1 to 9Hz, which is mainly caused by a change of single pulse amplitudes. We found no difference in paired-pulse suppression at the tested stimulation intensities.
Conclusions:
The extent of paired-pulse ratios across different studies should be interpreted with caution due to the high dependence on repetition rate, while the results at the commonly used stimulus intensities are comparable.
Significance:
For an optimized parameter setting with sufficient paired-pulse suppression, we suggest a stimulation rate of 1 or 3Hz and a stimulation intensity of 250% of sensory threshold or slightly above motor threshold.
