LAUSR

Several neurophysiological abnormalities have been described in blepharospasm, including loss of inhibition in sensorimotor pathways at cortical and brainstem level and abnormalities of sensory processing. These changes have traditionally been linked to a basal ganglia dysfunction. However, this interpretation has recently been questioned and alternative pathophysiological model positing that dystonia is a network disorder has been proposed. On the basis of available information, we can speculate that loss of inhibition at cortical and brainstem level and abnormalities of sensory processing in blepharospasm probably reflect the functional derangement of a network involving frontal and parietal cortical areas, basal ganglia, thalamus, and, possibly, the cerebellum.