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Mainka T, Balint B, Gövert F, Kurvits L, van Riesen C, Kühn AA, Tijssen MAJ, Lees AJ, Müller-Vahl K, Bhatia KP, Ganos C. The spectrum of involuntary vocalizations in humans: A video atlas. Mov Disord 2019; 34:1774-1791. [PMID: 31651053 DOI: 10.1002/mds.27855] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2019] [Revised: 07/22/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
In clinical practice, involuntary vocalizing behaviors are typically associated with Tourette syndrome and other tic disorders. However, they may also be encountered throughout the entire tenor of neuropsychiatry, movement disorders, and neurodevelopmental syndromes. Importantly, involuntary vocalizing behaviors may often constitute a predominant clinical sign, and, therefore, their early recognition and appropriate classification are necessary to guide diagnosis and treatment. Clinical literature and video-documented cases on the topic are surprisingly scarce. Here, we pooled data from 5 expert centers of movement disorders, with instructive video material to cover the entire range of involuntary vocalizations in humans. Medical literature was also reviewed to document the range of possible etiologies associated with the different types of vocalizing behaviors and to explore treatment options. We propose a phenomenological classification of involuntary vocalizations within different categorical domains, including (1) tics and tic-like vocalizations, (2) vocalizations as part of stereotypies, (3) vocalizations as part of dystonia or chorea, (4) continuous vocalizing behaviors such as groaning or grunting, (5) pathological laughter and crying, (6) vocalizations resembling physiological reflexes, and (7) other vocalizations, for example, those associated with exaggerated startle responses, as part of epilepsy and sleep-related phenomena. We provide comprehensive lists of their associated etiologies, including neurodevelopmental, neurodegenerative, neuroimmunological, and structural causes and clinical clues. We then expand on the pathophysiology of the different vocalizing behaviors and comment on available treatment options. Finally, we present an algorithmic approach that covers the wide range of involuntary vocalizations in humans, with the ultimate goal of improving diagnostic accuracy and guiding appropriate treatment. © 2019 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tina Mainka
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Bettina Balint
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Neurology, University Hospital Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Felix Gövert
- Department of Neurology, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Christian-Albrechts-University, Kiel, Germany
| | - Lille Kurvits
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Christoph van Riesen
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Neurology, University Medicine Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Andrea A Kühn
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marina A J Tijssen
- Department of Neurology, University Medical Centre Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands
| | - Andrew J Lees
- Reta Lila Weston Institute of Neurological Studies, UCL, Institute of Neurology, London, UK
| | - Kirsten Müller-Vahl
- Clinic of Psychiatry, Socialpsychiatry and Psychotherapy, Hannover Medical School, Hannover, Germany
| | - Kailash P Bhatia
- Department of Clinical and Movement Neurosciences, Queen Square Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, UK
| | - Christos Ganos
- Department of Neurology, Charité University Medicine Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Richard MP. A peculiar condition: A history of the Jumping Frenchmen Syndrome in scientific and popular accounts. JOURNAL OF THE HISTORY OF THE NEUROSCIENCES 2018; 27:355-374. [PMID: 30183513 DOI: 10.1080/0964704x.2018.1481315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
In 1878, Dr. George Beard reported to other neurologists that in Maine there existed French-Canadian woodsmen who jumped when excited. Beard observed the phenomenon firsthand and his subsequent reports attracted the attention of Georges Gilles de la Tourette in France and other neurologists worldwide for a couple of decades. During the second half of the twentieth century, interest in the jumpers revived among neurologists, as some came forward with similar observations in different parts of Canada and the United States. This article compares and contrasts the scientific reports of the jumping syndrome with those of the popular press and highlights what they revealed about the perceived status of French-Canadian descendants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Paul Richard
- a Department of History , State University of New York at Plattsburgh , Plattsburgh , New York , USA
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Abstract
Startle refers to a sudden involuntary movement of the body in response to a surprising and unexpected stimulus. It is a fast twitch of facial and body muscles evoked by a sudden and intense tactile, visual, or acoustic stimulus. While startle can be considered to be a protective function against injury, startle syndromes are abnormal responses to startling events, consisting of three heterogeneous groups of disorders. The first is hyperekplexia, characterized by brisk and generalized startle in response to trivial stimulation. The major form of hereditary hyperekplexia has a genetic basis, frequently due to mutations in the α1 subunit of the glycine receptor (GLRA1) on chromosome 5q. In the second group, normal startle induces complex but stereotyped motor and/or behavioral abnormalities lasting several seconds, termed as startle epilepsy. It usually occurs in the setting of severe brain damage, particularly perinatal hypoxia. The third group is characterized by nonhabituating hyperstartling, provoked by loud noises, sudden commands, or gestures. The intensity of startle response tends to increase with frequency of stimulation, which often leads to injury. Interestingly, its occurrence is restricted to certain social or ethnic groups in different parts of the world, such as jumping Frenchmen of Maine among Franco-Canadian lumberjack communities, and Latah in Southeast Asia. So far, no neurological abnormalities have been reported in association with these neuropsychiatric startle syndromes. In this chapter, the authors discuss the clinical presentation, physiology, and the neuronal basis of the normal human startle as well as different groups of abnormal startle syndromes. The aim is to provide an overview of hyperstartling with some diagnostic hints and the distinguishing features among these syndromes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roongroj Bhidayasiri
- Chulalongkorn Comprehensive Movement Disorders Center, Chulalongkorn University Hospital, Bangkok, Thailand
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Abstract
Exaggerated startle is an uncommon feature of various neurological diseases, but is still lacking precise analysis in many of them. So far, electrophysiologic and cinematographic analyses allow discriminating two main subtypes. The prototype of primary exaggerated startle is hereditary hyperekplexia, a well-studied disorder of the inhibitory glycine receptor and thus of the neuronal Cl- channel. The involuntary jerking in hereditary hyperekplexia is considered a reticular reflex myoclonus. The prototype of primary normal startle with secondary abnormalities is startle epilepsy where a surprise stimulus typically provokes a normal startle, which in turn initiates a focal (most often frontal lobe) seizure with tonic posturing of the limbs. Clinical differential diagnosis between both subtypes may be difficult in individual cases, but there are abnormalities in clinical and neurophysiologic reflex testing, which need, however, broad validation.
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Affiliation(s)
- H-M Meinck
- Neurologische Universitätsklinik, Im Neuenheimerfeld 400, D 69120 Heidelberg, Germany.
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Abstract
Startle syndromes consist of three heterogeneous groups of disorders with abnormal responses to startling events. The first is hyperekplexia, which can be split up into the "major" or "minor" form. The major form of hyperekplexia is characterised by excessive startle reflexes, startle-induced falls, and continuous stiffness in the neonatal period. This form has a genetic basis: mutations in the alpha1 subunit of the glycine receptor gene, GLRA1, or related genes. The minor form, which is restricted to excessive startle reflexes with no stiffness, has no known genetic cause or underlying pathophysiological substrate. The second group of startle syndromes are neuropsychiatric, in which excessive startling and various additional behavioural features occur. The third group are disorders in which startling stimuli can induce responses other than startle reflexes, such as startle-induced epilepsy. Diagnosis of startle syndromes depends on clinical history, electromyographic studies, and genetic screening. Further study of these disorders may enable improved discrimination between the different groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirte J Bakker
- Department of Neurology, Academic Medical Centre, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Laberge AM, Michaud J, Richter A, Lemyre E, Lambert M, Brais B, Mitchell GA. Population history and its impact on medical genetics in Quebec. Clin Genet 2005; 68:287-301. [PMID: 16143014 DOI: 10.1111/j.1399-0004.2005.00497.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 140] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/02/2023]
Abstract
Knowledge of the genetic demography of Quebec is useful for gene mapping, diagnosis, treatment, community genetics and public health. The French-Canadian population of Quebec, currently about 6 million people, descends from about 8500 French settlers who arrived in Nouvelle-France between 1608 and 1759. The migrations of those settlers and their descendants led to a series of regional founder effects, reflected in the geographical distribution of genetic diseases in Quebec. This review describes elements of population history and clinical genetics pertinent to the treatment of French Canadians and other population groups from Quebec and summarizes the cardinal features of over 30 conditions reported in French Canadians. Some were discovered in French Canadians, such as autosomal recessive ataxia of the Charlevoix-Saguenay (MIM 270550), agenesis of corpus callosum and peripheral neuropathy (MIM 218000) and French-Canadian-type Leigh syndrome (MIM 220111). Other conditions are particularly frequent or have special genetic characteristics in French Canadians, including oculopharyngeal muscular dystrophy, hepatorenal tyrosinaemia, cystic fibrosis, Leber hereditary optic neuropathy and familial hypercholesterolaemia. Three genetic diseases of Quebec First Nations children are also discussed: Cree encephalitis (MIM 608505), Cree leukoencephalopathy (MIM 603896) and North American Indian childhood cirrhosis (MIM 604901).
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Affiliation(s)
- A-M Laberge
- Service de Génétique médicale, Hôpital Ste-Justine, Montréal, Quebec, Canada
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Chatterjee A, Jurewicz EC, Applegate LM, Louis ED. Personality in essential tremor: further evidence of non-motor manifestations of the disease. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2004; 75:958-61. [PMID: 15201349 PMCID: PMC1739140 DOI: 10.1136/jnnp.2004.037176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE To ascertain whether patients with essential tremor have distinct definable personality traits. METHODS A case-control study of patients with essential tremor was carried out to look for differences in personality characteristics. The controls were derived from the same source population. Using the tridimensional personality questionnaire (TPQ), personality traits were assessed in three dimensions: harm avoidance (HA), novelty seeking (NS), and reward dependence (RD). Additional analyses were conducted to address the possibility of selection bias among the patients with essential tremor. RESULTS There were 55 patients and 61 controls. There was a difference between patients and controls in HA subscale scores (p = 0.005) but not in NS or RD scores. The difference remained significant in analyses that adjusted for age, sex, race, and education (p = 0.005). HA subscale scores did not correlate with subjective or objective measures of disability or with indices of severity of tremor. CONCLUSIONS Patients with essential tremor scored higher on the harm avoidance subscale scores than control subjects. HA subscale scores did not correlate with the severity of tremor or with subjective and objective scales of disability, suggesting that the personality profile observed was not entirely related to functional disability caused by the tremor. Longitudinal studies of personality in essential tremor are needed to characterise the stability and evolution of these personality traits within the natural history of the disease process.
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Affiliation(s)
- A Chatterjee
- GH Sergievsky Center, Columbia University, New York, USA
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