Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and overview
- 1 Epilepsies as channelopathies
- 2 Epilepsy and movement disorders in the GABAA receptor β3 subunit knockout mouse: model of Angelman syndrome
- 3 Genetic reflex epilepsy from chicken to man: relations between genetic reflex epilepsy and movement disorders
- 4 Functional MRI of the motor cortex
- 5 Neuromagnetic methods and transcranial magnetic stimulation for testing sensorimotor cortex excitability
- 6 Motor dysfunction resulting from epileptic activity involving the sensorimotor cortex
- 7 Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy
- 8 Motor cortex hyperexcitability in dystonia
- 9 The paroxysmal dyskinesias
- 10 Normal startle and startle-induced epileptic seizures
- 11 Hyperekplexia: genetics and culture-bound stimulus-induced disorders
- 12 Myoclonus and epilepsy
- 13 The spectrum of epilepsy and movement disorders in EPC
- 14 Seizures, myoclonus and cerebellar dysfunction in progressive myoclonus epilepsies
- 15 Opercular epilepsies with oromotor dysfunction
- 16 Facial seizures associated with brainstem and cerebellar lesions
- 17 Neonatal movement disorders: epileptic or non-epileptic
- 18 Epileptic and non-epileptic periodic motor phenomena in children with encephalopathy
- 19 Epileptic stereotypies in children
- 20 Non-epileptic paroxysmal eye movements
- 21 Shuddering and benign myoclonus of early infancy
- 22 Epilepsy and cerebral palsy
- 23 Sydenham chorea
- 24 Alternating hemiplegia of childhood
- 25 Motor attacks in Sturge–Weber syndrome
- 26 Syndromes with epilepsy and paroxysmal dyskinesia
- 27 Epilepsy genes: the search grows longer
- 28 Genetics of the overlap between epilepsy and movement disorders
- 29 Seizures and movement disorders precipitated by drugs
- 30 Steroid responsive motor disorders associated with epilepsy
- 31 Drugs for epilepsy and movement disorders
- Index
- Plate section
8 - Motor cortex hyperexcitability in dystonia
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 03 May 2010
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- List of contributors
- Preface and overview
- 1 Epilepsies as channelopathies
- 2 Epilepsy and movement disorders in the GABAA receptor β3 subunit knockout mouse: model of Angelman syndrome
- 3 Genetic reflex epilepsy from chicken to man: relations between genetic reflex epilepsy and movement disorders
- 4 Functional MRI of the motor cortex
- 5 Neuromagnetic methods and transcranial magnetic stimulation for testing sensorimotor cortex excitability
- 6 Motor dysfunction resulting from epileptic activity involving the sensorimotor cortex
- 7 Nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy
- 8 Motor cortex hyperexcitability in dystonia
- 9 The paroxysmal dyskinesias
- 10 Normal startle and startle-induced epileptic seizures
- 11 Hyperekplexia: genetics and culture-bound stimulus-induced disorders
- 12 Myoclonus and epilepsy
- 13 The spectrum of epilepsy and movement disorders in EPC
- 14 Seizures, myoclonus and cerebellar dysfunction in progressive myoclonus epilepsies
- 15 Opercular epilepsies with oromotor dysfunction
- 16 Facial seizures associated with brainstem and cerebellar lesions
- 17 Neonatal movement disorders: epileptic or non-epileptic
- 18 Epileptic and non-epileptic periodic motor phenomena in children with encephalopathy
- 19 Epileptic stereotypies in children
- 20 Non-epileptic paroxysmal eye movements
- 21 Shuddering and benign myoclonus of early infancy
- 22 Epilepsy and cerebral palsy
- 23 Sydenham chorea
- 24 Alternating hemiplegia of childhood
- 25 Motor attacks in Sturge–Weber syndrome
- 26 Syndromes with epilepsy and paroxysmal dyskinesia
- 27 Epilepsy genes: the search grows longer
- 28 Genetics of the overlap between epilepsy and movement disorders
- 29 Seizures and movement disorders precipitated by drugs
- 30 Steroid responsive motor disorders associated with epilepsy
- 31 Drugs for epilepsy and movement disorders
- Index
- Plate section
Summary
Clinical features of dystonia
Dystonia is a disorder characterized by involuntary movements of sustained muscle contractions, causing prolonged movements or abnormal postures. Movements are often twisting in nature, meaning rotatory about the long axis of a body part. Some patients may also have quick movements, called myoclonic dystonia, or tremor, but ordinarily there will have to be some sustained movements for dystonia to be recognized as such. These quick movements particularly might be confused with epileptic phenomena. Dystonia can be present during rest, but in general is more likely to appear when the patient is engaged in voluntary activity. Voluntary movements are slow, clumsy, and characterized by overflow (excessive activity in muscles not needed for the task).
Dystonia can be present in any part of the body, and can be classified as focal, segmental, multifocal, generalized, or hemidystonia. Focal means that one body part is affected and includes conditions such as blepharospasm, oromandibular dystonia, adductor spasmodic dysphonia, spasmodic torticollis, and writer's cramp. Segmental implies two or more contiguous regions such as involvement of a whole limb with the associated part of the trunk. Hemidystonia denotes one side of the body.
Hereditary childhood onset dystonia (idiopathic torsion dystonia, DYT1) most commonly starts between 6 and 12 years of age with dystonia of the foot while walking. The illness is then slowly progressive and becomes generalized. The disorder is usually autosomal dominant with reduced penetrance both in Jews and nonJews (Bressman et al., 1994a).
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- Epilepsy and Movement Disorders , pp. 111 - 124Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2001