[Pseudospontaneous movements in patients with petit-mal seizures (author's transl)]

The videotape analysis showed in 26 patients (42% of the investigated patients) ictal motor phenomena which, in the routine clinical examination, could be easily misinterpreted as voluntary spontaneous movements of nervous tics. Such pseudospontaneous movements are differentiated according to the composition of the fundamental movement program into elementary, complex, and scenic seizure phenomena. Moreover, the videotape analysis reveals that pseudospontaneous movements occur in the same patient during petit mal seizures with characteristic EEG changes, as well as during intervals without recognizable EEG changes. It is therefore assumed that small "masked" motor seizures occur more often than conventional EEG methods would suggest. Minimal pseudospontaneous movements are integrated so well into the course of voluntary motor behavior that they are often only detected by a subtle investigate technique (SDA) as an indication of an organic-functional brain disturbance. The occurrence of some pseudospontaneous movements during petit mal seizures appears to be caused by paroxysmal participation of extrapyramidal systems.