Ocular counterrolling abnormalities in spasmodic torticollis

Abstract

Spasmodic torticollis is a focal dystonic movement disorder of unknown origin, long hypothesized to have some vestibular involvement. An examination of otolith function, ocular counterrolling, was performed on eight patients with this disorder. The test consisted of photographing both eyes while the subject underwent rotation in both naso-occipital and earth-horizontal long axes. Measurements of eye torsion were made with a superimposition technique accurate to 0.1 degrees. Results showed all eight patients had abnormal ocular counterrolling. The most notable defect was the lack of sustained eye torsion at the extreme positions, resulting in rolling of the eyes in the direction of head tilt rather than counterrolling, a phenomenon previously observed only in persons with known brain-stem problems. That finding, as well as the majority of the patients showing spontaneous vestibular nystagmus in the dark and directional preponderance with caloric stimulation, implies that one difficulty in spasmodic torticollis lies in central vestibular connections, manifested by disruption of brain-stem pathways.