Isolated continuous rhythmic involuntary tongue movements following a pontine infarct.
Isolated involuntary tongue movements are rare and poorly understood. The anatomical substrate and pathogenesis underlying involuntary tongue movements remain elusive. We describe a patient who developed isolated continuous rhythmic involuntary tongue movements after pontine infarct without evidence of hypertrophy of inferior olivary nucleus on follow-up magnetic resonance image. We discuss the rhythmic involuntary tongue movements as a prototype of involuntary hyperkinetic movement released by a central pacemaker.
Lee
Phil Hyu
PH
Department of Neurology, Ajou University College of Medicine, Woncheon-dong San 5, Paldal-Ku, Suwon 442-749, South Korea. phisland@chol.net
Yeo
Seung Hyeon
SH
D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000150:complications* / Q000473:pathology / Q000523:psychology; D020820:Dyskinesias / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D009847:Olivary Nucleus / Q000473:pathology; D010291:Paresis / Q000209:etiology; D011149:Pons / Q000473:pathology; D014059:Tongue