Top

European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience

Published in:

01-04-2014 | Short Communication

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

Authors: Thomas Polak, Thomas Dresler, Julia B. M. Zeller, Bodo Warrings, Peter Scheuerpflug, Andreas J. Fallgatter, Jürgen Deckert, Florian G. Metzger

Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience | Issue 3/2014

Abstract

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.

Starkstein SE, Mizrahi R, Power BD (2008) Depression in Alzheimer’s disease: phenomenology, clinical correlates and treatment. Int Rev Psychiatry 20:382–388PubMedCrossRef

Wilkins CH, Mathews J, Sheline YI (2009) Late life depression with cognitive impairment: evaluation and treatment. Clin Interv Aging 4:51–57PubMedCentralPubMed

Wright SL, Persad C (2007) Distinguishing between depression and dementia in older persons: neuropsychological and neuropathological correlates. J Geriatr Psychiatr Neurol 20:189–198CrossRef

Braak H, Thal DR, Ghebremhedin E, Del Tredici K (2011) Stages of the pathological process in Alzheimer′s disease: age categories from 1 to 100 years. J Neuropathol Exp Neurol 70:960–969PubMedCrossRef

Attems J, Thal DR, Jellinger KA (2012) The relationship between subcortical tau pathology and Alzheimer’s disease. Biochem Soc Trans 40:711–715PubMedCrossRef

Henry TR (2002) Therapeutic mechanisms of vagus nerve stimulation. Neurology 59:S3–14PubMedCrossRef

Parvizi J, Van Hoesen GW, Damasio A (2001) The selective vulnerability of brainstem nuclei to Alzheimer’s disease. Ann Neurol 49:53–66PubMedCrossRef

Polak T, Ehlis AC, Langer JB, Plichta M, Metzger F, Ringel TM, Fallgatter AJ (2007) Non-invasive measurement of vagus activity in the brainstem—a methodological progress towards earlier diagnosis of dementias? J Neural Transm 114:613–619PubMedCrossRef

Metzger FG, Polak T, Aghazadeh Y, Ehlis AC, Hagen K, Fallgatter AJ (2012) Vagus somatosensory evoked potentials—a possibility for diagnostic improvement in patients with mild cognitive impairment? Dement Geriatr Cogn Disord 33:289–296PubMedCrossRef

10.

Fallgatter AJ, Neuhauser B, Herrmann MJ, Ehlis AC, Wagener A, Scheuerpflug P, Reiners K, Riederer P (2003) Far field potentials from the brain stem after transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation. J Neural Transm 110:1437–1443PubMedCrossRef

11.

Nomura S, Mizuno N (1984) Central distribution of primary afferent fibers in the Arnold’s nerve (the auricular branch of the vagus nerve): a transganglionic HRP study in the cat. Brain Res 292:199–205PubMedCrossRef

12.

Lee HY, Tae WS, Yoon HK, Lee BT, Paik JW, Son KR, Oh YW, Lee MS, Kam BJ (2011) Demonstration of decreased gray matter concentration in the midbrain encompassing the dorsal raphe nucleus and the limbic subcortical regions in major depressive disorder: an optimized voxel-based morphometry study. J Affect Disord 133:128–136PubMedCrossRef

13.

Michelsen KA, Schmitz C, Steinbusch HW (2007) The dorsal raphe nucleus—from silver stainings to a role in depression. Brain Res Rev 55:329–342PubMedCrossRef

14.

Budisic M, Karlovic D, Trkanjec Z, Lovrencic-Huzjan A, Vukovic V, Bosnjak J, Demarin V (2010) Brainstem raphe lesion in patients with major depressive disorder and in patients with suicidal ideation recorded on transcranial sonography. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 260:203–208PubMedCrossRef

15.

Bangasser DA, Zhang X, Garachh V, Hanhauser E, Valentino RJ (2011) Sexual dimorphism in locus coeruleus dendritic morphology: a structural basis for sex differences in emotional arousal. Physiol Behav 103:342–351PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

16.

Bernard R, Kerman IA, Thompson RC, Jones EG, Bunney WE, Barchas JD, Schatzberg AF, Myers RM, Akil H, Watson SJ (2011) Altered expression of glutamate signaling, growth factor, and glia genes in the locus coeruleus of patients with major depression. Mol Psychiatry 16:634–646PubMedCentralPubMedCrossRef

17.

Fallgatter AJ, Ehlis AC, Ringel TM, Herrmann MJ (2005) Age effect on far field potentials from the brain stem after transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation. Int J Psychophysiol 56:37–43PubMedCrossRef

18.

American Psychiatric Association (1994) Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV), 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association, Washington

19.

World Health Organization (1992) International statistical classification of diseases and related health problems, 10th revision (ICD-10). Chapter V, categories F00–F99 Mental, behavioural, and developmental disorders, clinical description and diagnostic guidelines. World health Organization, Geneva

20.

McKhann G, Drachman D, Folstein M, Katzman M, Price D, Stadlan EM (1984) Clinical diagnosis of Alzheimer′s disease: report of the NINCDS-ADRDA work group under the auspices of Department of Health and Human Services task force on Alzheimer′s disease. Neurology 23:939–944CrossRef

21.

Folstein MF, Folstein SE, McHugh PR (1975) Mini mental state: a practical method for grading the cognitive state of patients for the clinician. J Psychiatr Res 12:189–198PubMedCrossRef

22.

Williams JB (1988) A structured interview guide for the Hamilton depression rating scale. Arch Gen Psychiatry 45:742–747PubMedCrossRef

23.

Genius J, Klafki H, Benninghoff J, Esselmann H, Wiltfang J (2012) Current application of neurochemical biomarkers in the prediction and differential diagnosis of Alzheimer’s disease and other neurodegenerative dementias. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 262:S71–S77PubMedCrossRef

24.

Faul F, Erdfelder E, Lang AG, Buchner A (2006) G*Power 3: a flexible statistical power analysis for the social, behavioral, and biomedical sciences. Behav Res Methods 39:175–191CrossRef

25.

Gaugler JE, Yu F, Krichbaum K, Wyman JF (2009) Predictors of nursing home admission for persons with dementia. Med Care 47:191–198PubMedCrossRef

Title: Vagus somatosensory evoked potentials are delayed in Alzheimer’s disease, but not in major depression
Authors: Thomas Polak
Thomas Dresler
Julia B. M. Zeller
Bodo Warrings
Peter Scheuerpflug
Andreas J. Fallgatter
Jürgen Deckert
Florian G. Metzger
Publication date: 01-04-2014
Publisher: Springer Berlin Heidelberg
Published in: European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience / Issue 3/2014
Print ISSN: 0940-1334
Electronic ISSN: 1433-8491
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-013-0415-2

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

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

Abstract

Keynote webinar | Spotlight on medication adherence

Springer Medicine

Abstract

Please log in to get access to this content

Other articles of this Issue 3/2014

Depression and anxiety in Swedish primary health care: prevalence, incidence, and risk factors

Relational memory and hippocampal function in psychotic bipolar disorder

Impact of the anesthetic agents ketamine, etomidate, thiopental, and propofol on seizure parameters and seizure quality in electroconvulsive therapy: a retrospective study

An fMRI study of reward circuitry in patients with minimal or extensive history of major depression

The impact of repeated manic episodes and executive dysfunction on work adjustment in bipolar disorder

Reward, memory and prediction of treatment response in affective disorders