Very little is known in man about the cerebral representation of the vasomotor and visceromotor mechanisms and their sensory counterparts. However, animal experimentation points to the existence of neuronal chains concerned with these functions at almost all levels of the brain, and clinical evidence exists as to their involvement in disease and dysfunction of the brain. Dysfunction of cortical and subcortical structures in man in many instances leads to changes in the electroencephalogram. In many cases diencephalic and particularly thalamic disorders have been known to influence the cortical electrical activity. This is particularly true for epileptic manifestations in the widest sense. The present study deals with a group of patients in whom paroxysmal visceral symptoms were the presenting complaint. The first 12 of these patients were seen about 10 years ago at the Babies Hospital and the pediatric service of the Vanderbilt Clinic.1 During the intervening 10 years we