title: Mirror movements following cortical resection of polymicrogyria in a child with intractable epilepsy.
abstract: Mirror movements may be congenital or acquired. There are few reports of acquired mirror movements in pediatric patients. Further, mirror movements in children with epilepsy have rarely been reported. A 9-year old male, with intractable partial epilepsy resulting from polymicrogyria of the right hemisphere, underwent cortical resection of the right frontotemporoparietal region for a malformation of cortical development. He developed left hemiplegia and mirror movements in the left hand in the postoperative period. Four months after surgery, he remained seizure-free with mild residual left-sided hemiplegia and persistent mirror movements. Mechanisms postulated for mirror movements include aberrant pyramidal tract development and transcallosal inhibitory pathways. The latter mechanism might have contributed to the mirror movements observed in this child. This study is the first report of mirror movements following focal cortical resection for intractable epilepsy due to polymicrogyria.
authors.affiliation: Division of Neurology, Department of Paediatrics, The Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada.
authors.forename: Rajesh
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: RamachandranNair
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Otsubo
authors.forename: Ayako
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ochi
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Rutka
authors.forename: Elizabeth J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Donner
mesh_terms: D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000002:abnormalities* / Q000601:surgery*; D002648:Child; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006225:Hand / Q000503:physiopathology; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000209:etiology; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D046608:Synkinesis / Q000209:etiology*