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SPET monitoring of perfusion changes in auditory cortex following mono- and multi-frequency stimuli
G de Rossi1, G Paludetti, W di Nardo
1Nuclear Medicine Institute, Policlinico A. Gemelli, Rome, Italy.
Aim:
In order to assess the relationship between auditory cortex perfusion and the frequency of acoustic stimuli, twenty normally-hearing subjects underwent cerebral SPET.
Methods:
In 10 patients a multi-frequency stimulus (250-4000 Hz at 40 dB SL) was delivered, while 10 subjects were stimulated with a 500 Hz pure tone at 40 dB SL. The prestimulation SPET was subtracted from poststimulation study and auditory cortex activation was expressed as percent increments.
Results:
Contralateral cortex was the most active area with multi-frequency and monofrequency stimuli as well. A clear demonstration of a tonotopic distribution of acoustic stimuli in the auditory cortex was achieved. In addition, the accessory role played by homolateral acoustic areas was confirmed.
Conclusion:
The results of the present research support the hypothesis that brain SPET may be useful to obtain semi-quantitative reliable information on low frequency auditory level in profoundly deaf patients. This may be achieved comparing the extension of the cortical areas activated by high-intensity multifrequency stimuli.