Elsevier

The Lancet

Volume 311, Issue 8064, 18 March 1978, Pages 595-600
The Lancet

Occasional Survey
USE OF CHRONIC CEREBELLAR STIMULATION FOR DISORDERS OF DISINHIBITION

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(78)91038-3Get rights and content

Abstract

A review of the clinical results- from 200 patients and the neurophysiological results from 42 patients suggest? that chronic cerebellar stimulation (C.C.S.) can Improve cerebral palsy and reduce intractable seizures. The therapeutic effects of stimulation of the cerebellar surface may not be due to activation of Purkinje cells. There is evidence that stimulation of brainstem structures, particularly the reticular formation, may be associated with thalamic inhibition; such effects would explain the clinical results of C.C.S. as well as the reduction in amplitude of reflexes, evoked potentials, and parexysmal discharges in the electroencephalogram. This hypothesis would explain the prolonged, rebound, paradoxical, and cumulative effects of C.C.S. No clinical disturbance or significant tissue damage has resulted from C.C.S. over 5 years. The technique is an example of the therapeutic manipulation of inhibitory and disinhibitory mechanisms in the central nervous system.

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