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Aberrant regeneration in a case of syringobulbia: selective co-activation of abducens and facial nerves during saccades

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Summary

A patient suffering from syringobulbia and syringomyelia exhibited a phasic contraction of the ipsilateral facial muscles, mainly the levator labii, whenever he looked to the left or right. Facial muscle twitches occurred exclusively with saccades. The selective co-activation of abducens and facial nerves is interpreted as the result of bilateral misrouting of regenerating neurons from the parapontine reticular formation to the facial nerve in the tegmentum pontis.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Neurology, University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 3, D-7400, Tübingen, Federal Republic of Germany

    E. Altenmüller, J. Dichgans & M. Fetter

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  1. E. Altenmüller
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  2. J. Dichgans
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  3. M. Fetter
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Altenmüller, E., Dichgans, J. & Fetter, M. Aberrant regeneration in a case of syringobulbia: selective co-activation of abducens and facial nerves during saccades. J Neurol 237, 385–387 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315666

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00315666

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