[Study of the facial nerve motor pathway with the transcranial cerebral magnetic stimulation technique]

Transcranial magnetic stimulation method permits the study of the facial nerve in all its aspects (motor cortex-alpha moto-neurone-facial muscle) in an non invasive and painless way. We studied 12 patients using two levels of stimuli, the first was at an occipital level and the second at the primary motor cortex in the frontal lobe. We compared the results of this technique with those obtained by electric stimulation of the nerve.