Preterm Perinatal Hypoxia-Ischemia Does not Affect Somatosensory Evoked Potentials in Adult Rats
Melinda Barkhuizen,
Johan S.H. Vles,
Ralph van Mechelen,
Marijne Vermeer,
Boris W. Kramer,
Peter Chedraui,
Paul Bergs,
Vivianne H.J.M. van Kranen-Mastenbroek,
Antonio W.D. Gavilanes
Affiliations
Melinda Barkhuizen
Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Johan S.H. Vles
Department of Translational Neuroscience, School for Mental Health and Neuroscience (MHeNs), Maastricht University, 6229 HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Ralph van Mechelen
Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Marijne Vermeer
Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Boris W. Kramer
Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Peter Chedraui
Instituto de Investigación e Innovación de Salud Integral, Facultad de Ciencias Médicas, Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil, Guayaquil 090615, Ecuador
Paul Bergs
Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands
Vivianne H.J.M. van Kranen-Mastenbroek
Clinical Neurophysiology, Maastricht University Medical Centre, 6229 HX Maastricht, The Netherlands
Antonio W.D. Gavilanes
Department of Pediatrics, Maastricht University Medical Centre (MUMC), 6229HX, Maastricht, The Netherlands
Somatosensory evoked potentials (SSEPs) are a valuable tool to assess functional integrity of the somatosensory pathways and for the prediction of sensorimotor outcome in perinatal injuries, such as perinatal hypoxia-ischemia (HI). In the present research, we studied the translational potential of SSEPs together with sensory function in the male adult rat with perinatal HI compared to the male healthy adult rat. Both somatosensory response and evoked potential were measured at 10-11 months after global perinatal HI. Clear evoked potentials were obtained, but there were no group differences in the amplitude or latency of the evoked potentials of the preceding sensory response. The bilateral tactile stimulation test was also normal in both groups. This lack of effect may be ascribed to the late age-of-testing and functional recovery of the rats.
