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Abnormal unloading reflex in a patient with infarction of the medial lemniscus
Author(s) -
Angel Ronald W.,
Goldstein Mark
Publication year - 1983
Publication title -
annals of neurology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 4.764
H-Index - 296
eISSN - 1531-8249
pISSN - 0364-5134
DOI - 10.1002/ana.410130309
Subject(s) - reflex , lesion , medial lemniscus , lateral lemniscus , medicine , infarction , physical medicine and rehabilitation , anatomy , psychology , cardiology , neuroscience , anesthesia , surgery , nucleus , inferior colliculus , dorsum , myocardial infarction
The unloading reflex was measured in the intrinsic muscles of the hand. By removing various fractions of the load on the muscles, we determined the size of the electromyographic response as a function of the change in the external force. This technique was applied to both hands of a patient with a pontine lesion who had impaired position sense in the left hand. The response to fractional unloading was significantly smaller in the left hand, an asymmetry not found in control subjects. The results suggest (1) that the unloading reflex is mediated, at least in part, by suprasegmental pathways, and (2) that the fractional unloading technique can reveal abnormalities not found by conventional methods.