Rapid measurement of somatosensory evoked potential response to cerebral artery occlusion

The aim of the paper is to determine the speed of the neurological response to cerebral artery occlusion by monitoring transient changes in somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). SEPs, continuously monitored during temporary clipping of the middle cerebral artery (MCA) in anaesthetised cats, are analysed. The SEP signals are modelled by a quasi-periodic Fourier series, the coefficients of which are estimated with the aid of two adaptive least squares estimation algorithms. The energy levels at various harmonics throughout the protocol are obtained directly from the filter weights. Noise covariance is estimated from pre-stimulus recording, and the adaptation rate of the algorithm is adjusted sweep-by-sweep to accommodate transient changes in the pre-stimulus noise level. After the occlusion, a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in SEP amplitude is observed. The change in latency is not statistically significant (p approximately equal to 0.5). The spectral trends show a sudden decline in energy at all harmonics immediately following occlusion, although when the amplifier bandwidth is changed to 5-1500 Hz (from an initial setting of 30-1500 Hz), the fundamental frequency component of the SEP signal shows the greatest responsiveness to injury. The average time constant of the decline in amplitude resulting from MCA occlusion is only 10.6 +/- 4.0 s. It is concluded that rapid detection of cerebral artery occlusion and ischaemia may be feasible by continuously monitoring SEP signals and analysing transient changes in time and frequency domains.