Spasmodic torticollis after closed head injury

Abstract

Spasmodic torticollis, once thought to be psychogenic, is now recognized as an extrapyramidal movement disorder. A patient with onset of classical torticollis after closed head injury and intracranial hypertension is described. The patient had no clinical or radiologic evidence of brain stem dysfunction, but brain stem auditory evoked potentials suggested pontomesencephalic conduction disturbance ipsilateral to head and neck movements. This finding accords with some previous clinical and experimental evidence that pontomesencephalic structures ipsilateral to the movements may be involved in torticollis. The observation suggests that spasmodic torticollis may develop as a sequel to trauma in head-injured patients and should be differentiated from posttraumatic seizures.