Pathological crying induced by deep brain stimulation.
Pathological crying (PLC)--an affective gesture without any or an adequate emotion--occurs with various diseases. A recent theory suggests that PLC is caused by a disruption of higher order cortical association areas from the cerebellum which computes profiles of psychomotor responses. We report a patient with Parkinson's disease who developed PLC during stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) predominantly of the right hemisphere. Positron emission tomography imaging showed thalamo-ponto-cerebellar activation during such stimulation. These findings indicate that the STN and possibly also ponto-cerebellar pathways are involved in psychomotor control and in the modulation of PLC.
Wojtecki
Lars
L
Department of Neurology, Heinrich-Heine-University, Düsseldorf, Germany.
Nickel
Janpeter
J
Timmermann
Lars
L
Maarouf
Mohammad
M
Südmeyer
Martin
M
Schneider
Frank
F
Seitz
Rüdiger J
RJ
Voges
Jürgen
J
Sturm
Volker
V
Schnitzler
Alfons
A
D000368:Aged; D001526:Behavioral Symptoms / Q000209:etiology*; D003448:Crying; D046690:Deep Brain Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010300:Parkinson Disease / Q000628:therapy*