Electrophysiological Evidence for Functional (Psychogenic) Essential Palatal Tremor. (17th June 2020)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Vial, Felipe; Akano, Emmanuel; Attaripour, Sanaz; McGurrin, Patrick; Hallett, Mark
• Is Part Of: Tremor and other hyperkinetic movements. Volume 10(2020)
• Publication Date: 2020-06-17
• Subjects: tremor -- functional -- psychogenic -- palatal myoclonus -- Bereitschaftspotential; Tremor -- Periodicals; Hyperkinesia -- Periodicals; 616.8
• DOI: 10.5334/tohm.70
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 2160-8288

Abstract

Background: There is little published work describing the electrophysiological characteristics of essential palatal tremor, a condition now believed by many to be a functional (psychogenic) movement disorder. Case Report: Here we combine electroencephalography and electromyography with time-locked video recordings to document two cases of essential palatal tremor in which a definitive diagnosis is achieved using these electrophysiological tools. Discussion: We believe that sharing how these objective tools can be used to diagnose a functional movement disorder, as well as providing more published evidence to support the functional origin of essential palatal myoclonus, will help to diagnose this condition in the future.