title: Acoustic reflex abnormalities in cranial-cervical dystonia.
abstract: Previous anatomic and physiologic studies suggest brainstem dysfunction in cranial-cervical dystonia. To further explore this, we studied suprathreshold acoustic reflex waveforms in 15 such patients. A unique feature of this technique is its ability to reject movement artifacts before averaging the acoustic reflex waveforms. Thirteen patients (87%) showed some abnormality in reflex waveform morphology. There were both amplitude and latency abnormalities. These findings support the hypothesis that cranial-cervical dystonia reflects dysfunction of the brainstem.
authors.affiliation: Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX 77030.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Jordan
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jerger
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Jankovic
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000503:physiopathology; D001307:Auditory Perception; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004421:Dystonia / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004594:Electrophysiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009422:Nervous System Diseases / Q000503:physiopathology; D011930:Reaction Time; D012018:Reflex