Intraoperative Neuromonitoring

Abstract

Intraoperative neuromonitoring encompasses a variety of different modalities in which different neuropathways are monitored either continuously or at defined time points throughout a neurosurgical procedure. Surgical morbidity can be mitigated with careful patient selection and thoughtful implementation of the appropriate neuromonitoring modalities through the identification of eloquent areas or early detection of iatrogenic pathway disruption. Modalities covered in this article include somatosensory and motor evoked potentials, electromyography, electroencephalography, brainstem auditory evoked responses, and direct cortical stimulation.

Keywords: Brainstem auditory evoked response; Direct cortical stimulation; Electroencephalogram; Electromyography; Motor evoked potentials; Somatosensory evoked potentials.