Long-term effects of concussion on relevancy-based modulation of somatosensory-evoked potentials.

Objective: The purpose of this investigation was to better understand the effects of concussions on the ability to selectively up or down-regulate incoming somatosensory information based on relevance.

Methods: Median nerve somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) were elicited from electrical stimulation and recorded from scalp electrodes while participants completed tasks that altered the relevance of specific somatosensory information being conveyed along the stimulated nerve.

Results: Within the control group, SEP amplitudes for task-relevant somatosensory information were significantly greater than for non-relevant somatosensory information at the earliest cortical processing potentials (N20-P27).