Epileptic negative myoclonus: a combined study of EEG and [123I]iomazenil (123I-IMZ) single photon emission computed tomography indicating involvement of medial frontal area.

Negative myoclonus (NM) is a sudden brief atonia in muscle that causes jerky lapses of posture. This study employed an electrophysiological technique (silent-period-locked-averaging (SPLA) electroencephalography (EEG)) and a pharmacodynamic imaging technique (123I-IMZ-SPECT) to examine epileptic NM (ENM). Delayed-phase 123I-IMZ-SPECT images, which reflect the specific binding of the tracers to GABA-A receptors, exhibited significant decrease in the left medial frontal area. The deficit in GABA-A receptors indicated that abnormal synchronization was mediated by the lack of inhibitory postsynaptic mechanism. The SPLA-EEG recorded spike-like notches superimposed on the slope of negative slow activity in the contralateral fronto-central region. The slow activity started around 100 ms before and the peak of the spike-like component was 30 ms before the onset of ENM. Since the 123I-IMZ-SPECT shows the actual distribution of the tracers, the abnormal area associated with ENM in this particular patient was supposed to be on the left medial frontal lobe. Scalp EEG, though it cannot always accurately locate the abnormal area, was highly sensitive to be able to detect electrical activities transmitted through neuronal network or volume conductor. Combined use of the two methods provided high resolution both in spatial and temporal domain.