Shortening of distal motor latency in anode distal stimulation

Pitfalls in Using Electrophysiological Studies to Diagnose Neuromuscular Disorders

“…In 1993, Dreyer et al29 showed that the CMAP and F-wave can be elicited by monopolar anodal stimulation, and the authors predicted that "anodal block" was unlikely to occur during routine electrodiagnostic studies. Moreover, the anode is known to generate action potentials,30,31 which may be caused by stimulating skin receptors and intradermal nerve endings, while the cathode directly activates underlying nerves 30,32. Therefore, the anode should be placed carefully so that it does not stimulate other nerves, possibly leading to false-negative findings.…”

Investigation of anodal stimulation and its implications for F‐wave examinations

“…They suggested that anodal stimulation may not have a uniform effect on motor and sensory nerves. In contrast, Yasunami et al 6 demonstrated that the distal motor latency after anodal stimulation was shortened compared with cathodal stimulation. Our experiment 4 revealed that anodal stimulation shortened the latencies of motor and sensory nerves equally ( Fig.…”

“…However, recent studies demonstrated that anodal block hardly occurs, [1][2][3][4] whereas anodal stimulation, that is, action potential generation from the anode itself, occurs instead. 1,5,6 This phenomenon has been investigated in detail in several studies, 1,5,6 but some of the findings are conflicting. Anodal stimulation may especially affect F-wave examination and shorten its latency if the stimulation is given using the cathode-distal placement.…”

Double peak sensory nerve action potentials to single stimuli in nerve conduction studies

“…On the contrary, the vcAP is obtained with higher intensities with a shorter latency, as it is generated closer to the recording electrode. The vcAP has also been described in motor nerve conduction studies …”

“…The vcAP has also been described in motor nerve conduction studies. 25,26 SIMULTANEOUS RECORDING FROM 2 DIFFERENT NERVES AT THE SAME SITE Orthodromic Nerve Conduction Studies. DPps can be obtained by applying stimuli simultaneously that activate 2 different nerves while recording over the same 2 nerves.…”