ASSOCIATED MOVEMENTS IN THE OCULOMOTOR AND FACIAL MUSCLES

Abstract

ABNORMAL motor phenomena belonging—generally speaking—to the vast group of hyperkineses do occur in the oculomotor muscles after incomplete recovery from a third nerve palsy. They constitute, as Bielschowsky¹ rightly said, "a problem of great biologic interest." But this difficult and fascinating problem has been much neglected in the neurologic literature. The symptomatology and pathogenesis of abnormal motor phenomena in the facial muscles after incomplete recovery from facial nerve palsy have been widely discussed by neurologists. But there is little in the neurologic literature on the subject of similar movements after oculomotor palsy. To Dejerine² it seemed that abnormal movements occur only after a seventh nerve palsy, and in no other instance. Leading contemporary neurologists, such as Harris³ and Kramer,⁴ have expressed the same view. The latter said: "It is remarkable that contractures and associated movements are observed in the region of the facial nerve and not