Background: Electrodiagnostic tests play a very important role to assess the functionality of any reflex pathway. To assess the integrity of the loop of trigeminal sensory nerves and facial motor nerves, blink reflex (BR) or corneal reflex assesses the involuntary action of orbicularis oculi muscle. The present study is carried out to record and analyze the BR latencies in healthy subjects.
Aims and Objectives: The aims of this study were to generate the normal values for BR latencies in healthy subjects at the neurophysiology laboratory at Gandhi Medical College Bhopal.
Materials and Methods: The study population comprised 50 healthy subjects aged above 18 years. Subjects with a history of demyelinating disorders, head injury, or facial pain were excluded from the study. BR latencies were recorded bilaterally using RMS EMG MKII MACHINE.
Results: The latencies of R1, R2i, and R2c in BR analyzed for the healthy subjects are as follows 9.98 ± 0.17, 29.54 ± 3.11, and 29.29 ± 2.78 (in ms), respectively.
Conclusion: In the observation of the present study, R1 was stable and reproducible with a biphasic/triphasic response, whereas R2 responses were polyphasic and varied more from stimulation to stimulation. Thus, normative data were analyzed to serve as normal value for latencies in BR which can be used to compare baseline parameters for BR studies in the neurophysiology laboratory in Gandhi Medical College, Bhopal, in healthy and diseased condition.
Key words: Blink reflex latencies; Demyelinating diseases; Electrophysiology, Reflex pathway
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