Transcranial electrical stimulation technique for induction of unilateral motor evoked potentials

Transcranial electrical stimulation motor evoked potentials (TES-MEP) are widely used to monitor motor function; however, broad current spread and induced body movement are limitations of this technique. We herein report a localized stimulation technique for TES-MEP that induces unilateral MEP responses.

The stimulation of C1(+)-C4(-) or C2(+)-C3(-) was performed to induce right- or left-sided muscle contraction, respectively, in 70 patients. Electromyography was recorded by placing electrodes on the bilateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) and abductor hallucis (AH) muscles. Stimulation conditions were regulated in the range to induce unilateral muscle contractions contralateral to the anodal stimulation. The thresholds and amplitudes of TES-MEP were retrospectively analyzed.

The thresholds of APB were lower than those of AH in 47 patients, AH thresholds were lower than those of APB in 6 patients, and both APB and AH started to respond at the same intensity in 15 patients. This technical stimulation induced contralateral limb contractions with a suprathreshold stimulation of 129.4 ± 35.6 mA (mean ± standard deviation) in 68 patients (97%). Amplitudes in the suprathreshold stimulation of APB and AH responses were 727.5 ± 695.7 and 403.3 ± 325.7 μV, respectively.

The C1(+)-C4/C2(+)-C3(-) stimulation in TES-MEP enables a localized stimulation to induce unilateral MEP responses.

Our stimulation technique enables the stable and safe monitoring of unilateral limbs, and contributes to the reliable monitoring of motor function in neurosurgery.