[Electrophysiological and clinical significance of early and late components of the blink reflex and their role in diagnosis]

Abstract

The authors have investigated the early and late components of the winking reflex to electrical stimulation of the supraciliary area in 15 healthy subjects, 24 patients with demyelinating nervous system diseases, and in 23 patients with acute ischemic impairment of the cerebral circulation in the vertebrobasilar basin. The nature of changes in the early and late components of the winking reflex were different in the two diseases, namely the latent periods of these components increase in demyelinating diseases and are absent in the acute period of cerebral stroke, which correlates with the detectable symptoms of damage to various portions of the brain stem.