Congenital Mirror Movements Associated With Brain Malformations

Background: Congenital mirror movements are involuntary movements of a side of the body imitating intentional movements on the opposite side, appearing in early childhood and persisting beyond 7 years of age. Congenital mirror movements are usually idiopathic but have been reported in association with various brain malformations. Methods: We describe clinical, genetic, and radiologic features in 9 individuals from 5 families manifesting congenital mirror movements. Results: The brain malformations associated with congenital mirror movements were: dysplastic corpus callosum in father and daughter with a heterozygous p.Met1* mutation in DCC; hypoplastic corpus callosum, dysgyria, and malformed vermis in a mother and son with a heterozygous p.Thr312Met mutation in TUBB3; dysplastic corpus callosum, dysgyria, abnormal vermis, and asymmetric ventricles in a father and 2 daughters with a heterozygous p.Arg121Trp mutation in TUBB; hypoplastic corpus callosum, dysgyria, malformed basal ganglia and abnormal vermis in a patient with a heterozygous p.Glu155Asp mutation in TUBA1A; hydrocephalus, hypoplastic corpus callosum, polymicrogyria, and cerebellar cysts in a patient with a homozygous p.Pro312Leu mutation in POMGNT1. Conclusion: DCC, TUBB3, TUBB, TUBA1A, POMGNT1 cause abnormal axonal guidance via different mechanisms and result in congenital mirror movements associated with brain malformations.

Automated summary

Congenital mirror movements are involuntary movements that mimic intentional movements on the opposite side, often persisting beyond 7 years of age. These movements are usually idiopathic but can be associated with various brain malformations. This study describes the clinical, genetic, and radiologic features in individuals with congenital mirror movements, and identifies specific genetic mutations in DCC, TUBB3, TUBB, TUBA1A, and POMGNT1 that are linked to abnormal axonal guidance and brain malformations.