[Functional (Psychogenic) Movement Disorder Focusing on Involuntary Movements: A Review]

Functional neurological disorders differ from malingering/factitious disorders and are diagnosed based solely on careful history taking and neurological evaluation. Some clinical characteristics, including distractibility, entrainability, and variability are important to identify the positive physical signs that indicate functional alterations. Thorough investigations are not essential to exclude organic pathologies, whereas electrophysiological and radiological findings are sometimes useful. Neurologists play an important role when they explain the diagnosis to the patient. The explanation itself may be therapeutic, when delivered successfully and may help patients to understand the nature and mechanisms underlying their movement disorder. A multidisciplinary team approach, including coordination between rehabilitation therapists and psychotherapists may produce positive treatment outcomes, particularly in movement disorder centers. In this article, we discuss some functional neurological disorders, including those in patients with functional movement disorders (involuntary movements) together with video presentations.