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The acoustic startle response is normal in patients with multiple system atrophy
F Valldeoriola1, J Valls-Solé, E Tolosa
1Departament de Medicina Hospital Clínic Universitat de Barcelona, Spain.
Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|September 26, 1997
Abstract:
We investigated the acoustic startle response in eight patients with MSA and compared the results with those from a group of age matched healthy subjects. Onset latency and amplitude of the responses obtained in the orbicularis oculi, masseter and sternocleidomastoid muscles were not different in patients and control subjects. We conclude that, in spite of the pathological derangement described in brainstem reticular nuclei in MSA, the neuronal circuits mediating the auditory startle reflex are functionally preserved.