Vagus somatosensory evoked potentials are delayed in Alzheimer’s disease, but not in major depression

• Published in: European archives of psychiatry and clinical neuroscience 2014-04, Vol.264 (3), p.263-267
• Main Authors: Polak, Thomas, Dresler, Thomas, Zeller, Julia B. M., Warrings, Bodo, Scheuerpflug, Peter, Fallgatter, Andreas J., Deckert, Jürgen, Metzger, Florian G.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Aged; Alzheimer Disease - cerebrospinal fluid; Alzheimer Disease - diagnosis; Alzheimer Disease - physiopathology; Amyloid beta-Peptides - cerebrospinal fluid; Analysis of Variance; Case-Control Studies; Depressive Disorder, Major - diagnosis; Depressive Disorder, Major - physiopathology; Evoked Potentials, Somatosensory - physiology; Female; Humans; Male; Medicine; Medicine & Public Health; Middle Aged; Neurosciences; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychiatry; Reaction Time - physiology; Sensitivity and Specificity; Short Communication; Vagus Nerve Stimulation
• ISSN: 0940-1334; 1433-8491
• DOI: 10.1007/s00406-013-0415-2

In Alzheimer’s disease (AD), the degeneration of brainstem nuclei is different from major depression (MD). Thus, vagus somatosensory evoked potentials (VSEP) proposed for the functional assessment of brainstem nuclei should show prolonged latencies in AD but not in MD. In 55 AD patients, 57 MD patients and two age-matched control groups evoked potentials were recorded upon stimulation of the auricular branch of the vagus nerve. In the AD, not in the MD group, latencies were significantly longer as compared to controls. Thus, the method of VSEP could contribute to the important differential diagnosis of AD and MD in elderly patients.