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Central and peripheral motor drive to the palatal muscles
Rechdi Ahdab1, Wassim H Farhat2, Moussa A Chalah3
1EA 4391, Excitabilité Nerveuse et Thérapeutique, Université Paris-Est-Créteil, Créteil, France; Service de Physiologie, Explorations Fonctionnelles, Hôpital Henri Mondor, Assistance Publique-Hôpitaux de Paris, 51, avenue de Lattre-de-Tassigny, 94010 Créteil, France; Neurology division, UMCRH, Beirut, Lebanon.
Aim Of The Study:
To characterize the motor command of the soft palate muscles using a magnetic stimulation technique.
Material And Methods:
Motor evoked potentials (MEPs) were recorded in 10 right-handed and 5 left-handed subjects at the midline of the palate or on the right or left hemipalate to peripheral and cortical magnetic stimulation.
Results:
Mean palatal MEP amplitude ranged from 0.06 to 0.26mV to peripheral stimulation and from 0.36 to 1.09mV to cortical stimulation. In hemipalate recordings, MEPs to peripheral stimulation had greater amplitude when recorded ipsilaterally to the stimulation side, whereas MEPs to cortical stimulation were symmetrical. In midline recordings, right-handed subjects showed greater palatal MEP amplitude to right (rather than left) peripheral stimulation and to left (rather than right) cortical stimulation. Mean palatal MEP latency ranged from 4.0 to 4.1ms to peripheral stimulation and from 9.0 to 10.2ms to cortical stimulation; mean central conduction time ranged from 4.9 to 6.2ms.
Conclusion:
Palatal MEPs were easily and reliably obtained, including selective responses in each hemipalate. A bilateral cortical command of the palate is supported by our results, with a possible predominant motor drive from the left hemisphere in right-handed subjects.
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