A Study on Somatosensory Evoked Potential Patterns According to Various Vibrotactile Stimulation: Frequencies and Intensities

Abstract

This study investigates somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) patterns in the C3 somatosensory area with varying frequency and intensity of vibrotactile stimuli. The study subjects included 13 men ([Formula: see text] years) and seven women ([Formula: see text] years) who were right-handed and had normal cognitive function. The participants were subjected to three intensity levels (0.25, 0.38 and 1.3[Formula: see text]g) and eight frequencies (10, 50, 100, 150, 200, 225, 250 and 300[Formula: see text]Hz) of vibrotactile stimuli on the distal phalanx of their right index finger. The peak values of SEP patterns generated in response to high-frequency vibrotactile stimuli were greater than those generated because of low-frequency flutter. Moreover, the peak values increased as the stimulus intensity increased from 1[Formula: see text]g to 3[Formula: see text]g. In these results, the maximum and minimum peak, and peak to peak values of SEP pattern in the C3 somatosensory area increased with an increase in the stimulation intensity and frequency of the vibrotactile stimuli. Data on the SEP patterns generated in response to various frequencies and intensities of somatosensory stimuli and the development of relevant databases will elucidate the various clinical applications and applicable domains where SEP assessment can be beneficial.

Neural Coding of Vibration Intensity

“…It is concluded that the high-intensity vibration was not as clear for participants to classify as a strong vibration. Choi et al ( 2020 ) shows the difference of SEP for various frequencies and intensities. It shows that SEP peak is increased for strong stimulation, which is similar to the high P2 peak of high-intensity vibration in the ERP result of this study.…”

“…Early studies demonstrated that vibrotactile frequency information are encoded in the P50 and P100 components of the ERP waveform in the postcentral gyrus of the primary somatosensory cortex and the parietal operculum of the secondary somatosensory cortex (Hämäläinen et al, 1990 ). A recent study examined the neural correlates of vibration intensity by considering three vibration intensities (0.25, 0.38, and 1.3 g) (Choi et al, 2020 ). Results demonstrated that the maximum and minimum peak, and peak to peak values of somatosensory evoked potential (SEP) patterns in the C3 somatosensory area increased as the stimulus intensity increased.…”