Quantitative vibratory perception thresholds of healthy and epileptic children

Quantitative vibratory perception threshold (VPT) measurements were performed on 102 healthy children and 79 children receiving anti-epileptic medication. Their ages ranged from three to 16. The VPTs correlated significantly with age and height. The rise in VPT with age may be associated with decreased receptor density. The level of mental alertness seemed to have no significant effect on vibratory perception. Only three of the children on anti-epileptics showed elevated VPTs. On the basis of this study, epileptic children seem to be free of the adverse effects of medication which occur later in adulthood. Children as young as three or four are quite capable of co-operating in this examination. The method can be recommended for use in follow-up studies of children and as a diagnostic aid when a disturbance of the sensory tract is suspected.