Anesthesia and Motor Evoked Potential (MEP) Recruitment

The Effect of Anesthesia on the Recruitment of Motor Evoked Potentials Using an Increased Number of Pulses

Test the hypothesis to recruit larger motor responses to transcranial stimulation.

The study is designed to test the hypothesis that it is possible to recruit larger motor responses to transcranial stimulation by increasing the number of stimulating pulses under both baseline conditions and conditions of increased anesthetic suppression of the motor responses.

Inclusion Criteria:

• Age 12 through 17 years
• Diagnosis of idiopathic scoliosis
• Scheduled for posterior spinal fusion with neurophysiological monitoring
• No known allergies to propofol or remifentanil
• No contraindication to total intravenous anesthesia
• No contraindications to the administration of volatile agents

Exclusion Criteria:

• Failure to consent or assent to study
• Diagnosis other than idiopathic scoliosis
• Poorly controlled seizures or the presence of a cochlear implant
• Patient history or family history of malignant hypothermia or mitochondrial myopathies