Journal
MUSCLE & NERVE
Volume 43, Issue 2, Pages 196-202Publisher
WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/mus.21810
Keywords
blink reflex; brainstem; somatosensory afferents; vascular midbrain lesions; Wallenberg syndrome
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Funding
- Fundacio TV3 [071930]
- FIS, Spain [P1080266]
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The brainstem pathways that mediate the somatosensory blink reflex (SBR) are not completely understood. We hypothesized that the circuits of the SBR might be affected separately from those of the trigeminal blink reflex (TBR). We examined 7 patients with mesencephalic lesions and 8 patients with medullary lesions. The SBR was elicited by median nerve stimulation. The TBR was elicited by supraorbital nerve stimulation. In patients with upper brainstem lesions, the TBR was normal, whereas the SBR was generally abnormal. The SBR was either absent or small and was significantly delayed with respect to control subjects. The opposite was the rule in patients with lower brainstem lesions who had delayed or absent TBR and no abnormal findings in the SBR. The SBR is mediated through circuits in the upper brainstem. Study of the SBR can be helpful in the neurophysiological assessment of patients with mesencephalic lesions. Muscle Nerve 43: 196-202, 2011
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