title: The silent period after magnetic brain stimulation in generalized tetanus.
abstract: The cortical silent period has not previously been studied in tetanus. Transcranial magnetic brain stimulation in a patient with generalized tetanus revealed enlarged electromyographic (EMG) responses and absence or reduction of the late phase of EMG silence following the motor evoked potential in sternomastoid and biceps brachii muscles. Following clinical recovery, the silent period returned to normal. This observation is interpreted as evidence of impaired inhibitory mechanisms at multiple levels of the nervous system, including the cortex, in generalized tetanus.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Royal Adelaide Hospital, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
authors.forename: J D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: T E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Kimber
authors.forename: P D
authors.initials: PD
authors.lastname: Thompson
mesh_terms: D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor; D006801:Humans; D008280:Magnetics; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000502:physiology; D009433:Neural Inhibition / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D013742:Tetanus / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology*