Cold-evoked potentials versus contact heat-evoked potentials-Methodological considerations and clinical application.

Background: Previous studies investigated cold-evoked potentials (CEPs) for the assessment of the integrity of cold-mediating A-delta fibres and the spinothalamic tract. Nevertheless, several methodological questions remained unanswered to proceed to clinical application. How do latencies and amplitudes vary between CEPs and contact heat-evoked potentials (CHEPs)? Are there differences between variable and fixed thermode positions or between glabrous and hairy skin? Are CEPs recordable in patients with abnormal cold processing?

Methods: A total of 16 healthy subjects were tested with CEPs and CHEPs at the face, hand and foot.