HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Figures Only Full Text Full Text (PDF) Data Supplement Correspondence: Submit a response Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when Correspondence are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Schmidt, K. E. Articles by Zubcov, A. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Schmidt, K. E. Articles by Zubcov, A. A. Related Collections All Imaging fMRI All Movement Disorders Dystonia Blepharospasm

Striatal activation during blepharospasm revealed by fMRI

From the Department of Neurophysiology (Drs. Schmidt and Linden), Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Frankfurt/Main; Departments of Ophthalmology (Dr. Zubcov), Psychiatry (Dr. Linden), and Neuroradiology (Drs. Zanella and Lanfermann), Johann Wolfgang Goethe University, Frankfurt/Main, Germany; and Department of Psychology (Dr. Goebel), University of Maastricht, The Netherlands.

Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Kerstin E. Schmidt, Max Planck Institute for Brain Research, Deutschordenstrasse 46, 60528 Frankfurt, Germany; e-mail: schmidt{at}mpih-frankfurt.mpg.de

Objective: To investigate brain areas involved in the initiation and execution of eyelid spasm in patients with benign essential blepharospasm.

Methods: The authors used fMRI and correlated the blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) signal with epochs of frequent eyelid spasm in six patients and with epochs of voluntary eye blinks in four healthy subjects.

Results: Spasm epochs were accompanied by activation in a subregion of the putamen in all patients, whereas voluntary blinking in healthy subjects was not. Other areas of activation common to patients and healthy subjects included frontal and parietal operculum, supplementary motor area, primary sensorimotor cortex, various visual areas, and the cerebellum.

Conclusions: The striatum may be involved in the initiation or execution of eyelid spasm. Future studies, possibly including electromyography (EMG) during fMRI, are needed to detect the sequence and role of other concomitantly activated areas.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				M Fiorio, M Tinazzi, A Scontrini, C Stanzani, M Gambarin, A Fiaschi, G Moretto, G Fabbrini, and A Berardelli Tactile temporal discrimination in patients with blepharospasm J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, July 1, 2008; 79(7): 796 - 798. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				T Etgen, M Muhlau, C Gaser, and D Sander Bilateral grey-matter increase in the putamen in primary blepharospasm J. Neurol. Neurosurg. Psychiatry, September 1, 2006; 77(9): 1017 - 1020. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				S. Haller, D.T. Winkler, C. Gobbi, P. Lyrer, S.G. Wetzel, and A.J. Steck Prominent Activation of the Putamen during Essential Palatal Tremor: A Functional MR Imaging Case Study AJNR Am. J. Neuroradiol., June 1, 2006; 27(6): 1272 - 1274. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Dresel, B. Haslinger, F. Castrop, A. M. Wohlschlaeger, and A. O. Ceballos-Baumann Silent event-related fMRI reveals deficient motor and enhanced somatosensory activation in orofacial dystonia Brain, January 1, 2006; 129(1): 36 - 46. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				C. Evinger and J. S. Perlmutter Blind men and blinking elephants Neurology, June 10, 2003; 60(11): 1732 - 1733. [Full Text] [PDF]