Latencies of vagus sensory evoked potentials are prolonged in Parkinson's disease

Introduction: Although Parkinson's disease (PD) presents principally as a movement disorder, involvement of brainstem nuclei such as the dorsal nucleus of the vagal nerve is well established. Vagus nerve function may be assessed, in part, by recording somatosensory evoked potentials (VSEP) after stimulation of its auricular branch (Fallgatter 2003). Methods: Vagus nerve somatosensory evoked potentials (VSEP) were investigated in 22 patients with PD (age 66.8±10.0, 7 females) and 22 age- and sex-matched controls. Far field potentials were recorded from electrodes positioned at C3, C4, F3, F4 and Fz after transcut…