Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2017 Apr;7(2):141-147.
doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000350.

Functional movement disorders: Five new things

Tamara Pringsheim  1 , Mark Edwards  1
Affiliations

Functional movement disorders: Five new things

Tamara Pringsheim et al. Neurol Clin Pract. 2017 Apr.

Abstract

Purpose of review: Functional movement disorders (FMD) are commonly seen in neurologic practice, but are associated with poor outcomes. Recent years have seen a resurgence of interest in this area, with new developments in pathophysiologic understanding and therapeutic management.

Recent findings: Individuals with FMD are a psychologically heterogeneous group, with many individuals having no detectable psychopathology on symptom screening measures, and possibly significant etiologically relevant life events only revealed through in-depth interviews. A randomized trial of specialist intensive physical rehabilitation compared to community-based neurophysiotherapy in FMD has demonstrated moderate to large effect sizes for both physical and social functioning outcomes. Experimental evidence suggests an impairment in the neural systems conferring a sense of agency over movement in individuals with FMD, and may explain why movements that appear voluntary are not experienced as such.

Summary: The prognosis of individuals with FMD may be improved with greater access to appropriately organized care and treatment.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Figure
Figure. Triggering events
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Comment in

  • Neurology and mental health.
    Pringsheim T. Pringsheim T. Neurol Clin Pract. 2017 Apr;7(2):96-97. doi: 10.1212/CPJ.0000000000000345. Neurol Clin Pract. 2017. PMID: 29185550 Free PMC article. No abstract available.

References

    1. Stone J, Carson A, Duncan R, et al. Who is referred to neurology clinics? The diagnoses made in 3781 new patients. Clin Neurol Neurosurg 2010;112:747–751. - PubMed
    1. Gelauff J, Stone J, Edwards M, Carson A. The prognosis of functional (psychogenic) motor symptoms: a systematic review. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 2014;85:220–226. - PubMed
    1. Edwards MJ, Stone J, Lang AE. From psychogenic movement disorder to functional movement disorder: it's time to change the name. Mov Disord 2014;29:849–852. - PubMed
    1. Fahn S, Olanow CW. “Psychogenic movement disorders”: they are what they are. Mov Disord 2014;29:853–856. - PubMed
    1. van der Hoeven RM, Broersma M, Pijnenborg GH, et al. Functional (psychogenic) movement disorders associated with normal scores in psychological questionnaires: a case control study. J Psychosom Res 2015;79:190–194. - PubMed