Motor strength and lateralized temporal lobe dysfunction: A sodium amobarbital study

David W. Loring, Kimford J. Meador, Gregory P. Lee

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

We examined the relationship of motor strength to amobarbital dosage during intracarotid amobarbital testing in 57 patients with complex partial seizures prior to temporal lobectomy. Amobarbital dosage was titrated up to a maximum dosage of 250 mg to produce a complete contralateral hemiplegia of the upper extremity. A significantly higher dose was required to produce a flaccid hemiplegia during the injection ipsilateral to seizure onset as compared to the contralateral injection. These data suggest a functional cerebral reorganization associated with focal epilepsy, which may be related to either increased bihemispheric control of motor function or altered metabolic elements of the hemisphere in which the seizure originates. Implications for cerebral plasticity are discussed.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)139-141
Number of pages3
JournalJournal of Epilepsy
Volume6
Issue number3
DOIs
StatePublished - 1993

Keywords

  • Amobarbital test
  • Motor strength
  • Temporal lobe dysfunction
  • Wada test

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Neuroscience
  • Clinical Neurology

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