Somatosensory evoked potentials versus magnetospinography and magnetoneurography: is there a need for a new diagnostic modality in brachial plexus, cervical roots and spinal cord neurophysiology?

Abstract

The electrical signals that pass through neuronal structures generate electrical currents and magnetic fields that can be measured by different electrography and magnetography modal ities. In this article, we briefly review the fundamentals of recording bioelectrical currents and biomagnetic fields. This is followed by an analysis of the neurophysiologic substrates of the brachial plexus, cervical roots, and spinal cord, comparing the electrography-based modality of somatosensory evoked potential with the magnetography-based modality of magneto spinography/magnetoneurography (MSG/MNG). We aim to illustrate that MSG/MNG has the potential to address the shortcomings that currently exist in electrography modalities for di rect neurophysiologic assessment of the aforementioned neural structures.