[Quantification of the attenuation of pain sensation through evoked potentials after the application of mild analgesics (author's transl)]

Abstract

Evoked potentials resulting from stimulation of tooth pulp with rectangular impulses were chosen for the indication of the analgesic activity of mild analgesics. If the stimuli were perceived subjectively as equally painful, the amplitudes of the evoked potentials were intraindividually well reproducible. The results are reproducible within one day as well as on different days. According to the large interindividual variation in the amplitude of the evoked potentials, the percentual reduction of the amplitude was a better measure for the analgesic action than the absolute height of the signal. Interindividually, the latencies have shown clear differences whereas they were reproducible for the individuum. The curves for: 1. The percentual reduction of the evoked potentials 2. The diminuation of the subjective pain response 3. The increase in the sensitivity threshold after the application of the drug were principally similar. The results indicate, that the evoked potentials may represent a more sensitive measure of experimentally induced pain in subjective methods.