PMID: 7580764Sep 1, 1995Paper

Brainstem auditory evoked potentials during a helium-oxygen saturation dive to 450 meters of seawater

Undersea & Hyperbaric Medicine : Journal of the Undersea and Hyperbaric Medical Society, Inc
J LorenzJ Wenzel

Abstract

When divers are exposed to extreme atmospheric pressures they may exhibit symptoms of the high pressure nervous syndrome (HPNS). Although clinical HPNS symptoms are well described, little is known about the underlying pathophysiologic mechanisms. Special HPNS signs like vertigo and tremor suggested sensory-motor hyperexcitability resulting from brainstem dysfunction. We therefore studied brainstem auditory evoked potential (BAEP) repeatedly in four divers during an experimental deep helium-oxygen saturation dive to 450 meters of seawater (msw). Wave I (auditory nerve response) latency decreased whereas interpeak latencies (IPLs) I-III and I-V, which indicate respective cochleo-pontine and cochleo-mesencephalic transmission time, prolonged during the dive. IPLs III-V also prolonged the dive, but with greater variability among divers. Two divers showed a marked reversal of the normal attenuation effect of increased stimulus presentation rates on IV and V amplitudes during compression, an effect that subsided during the stay at bottom depth. This finding might indicate a relative enhancement of synaptic excitability and is presumed to be a feature of HPNS. Wave I latency reduction might at least partly be caused by accelerated sou...Continue Reading

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