Alterations in Oropharyngeal Sensory Evoked Potentials (PSEP) with Parkinson’s disease

The study investigates how Parkinson's disease (PD) affects the sensory processing of the oropharynx, the area in the back of the mouth, using a technique called oropharyngeal sensory evoked potentials (PSEP). PSEP involves stimulating the oropharynx with an air puff and measuring the brain's electrical activity in response. This helps determine if individuals with PD experience changes in how they perceive and process mechanical stimulation in the pharynx. The findings suggest that people with PD may have altered sensory feedback from the pharynx, which could contribute to swallowing difficulties often seen in the disease.

• 1
  PD participants had a decreased N2 latency, indicating faster processing of the stimulus.
• 2
  The PD group showed greater gating of the P1 and N2 component peaks, suggesting changes in how they filter sensory information.
• 3
  These results suggest that persons with PD experience changes in sensory processing of mechanical stimulation of the pharynx to a greater degree than age-matched controls.