Potencial Evocado Miogênico Vestibular e desenvolvimento neuropsicomotor e linguístico em pré-escolares: estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: Neuropsychomotor development is characterized by the continuous process of neurological, behavioral, cognitive, social, and motor maturation, which predominantly occurs during childhood. Considering the significant relationship between the vestibular system and cortical areas—and consequently with cognitive and neuropsychomotor functions—recent studies have been discussing the association between vestibular dysfunctions and cognitive alterations. Objective: To investigate the relationship between vestibulo-ocular and vestibulo-cervical reflexes and neuropsychomotor and language development in preschool children. Method: This is a cross-sectional study conducted through vestibular assessment, neuropsychomotor developmental screening, and evaluation of both receptive and expressive language in preschoolers aged 3 to 6 years. The assessments included Vestibular Evoked Myogenic Potentials (cVEMP and oVEMP), the DENVER II screening test, and the ADL II scale. Results: The sample consisted of 35 preschoolers, 18 male and 17 female, with a mean age of 4.78 years. The mean cVEMP latencies were 15.49 ms for P13 and 17.88 ms for N23. For oVEMP, the mean latencies were 12 ms for N10 and 15.5 ms for P15. In the neuropsychomotor development screening, 57% of the children were at risk for delays in at least one of the assessed areas. In the ADL, only 4% showed alterations in at least one of the evaluated modalities. Statistical analysis indicated a significant association between the amplitude of the right-ear cVEMP and the risk of language alterations, between receptive language alterations and cVEMP amplitude in both ears, and also with oVEMP amplitude in the left ear. Conclusion: This study observed that the risk of language alterations was significantly associated with increased right-ear cVEMP amplitude. Furthermore, receptive language alterations were significantly related to increased vestibulo-ocular reflex amplitude in both ears, and global language alterations were associated with increased vestibulo-cervical reflex amplitude in the right ear.