The metabolic topography of posthypoxic myoclonus.

Posthypoxic myoclonus (PHM) is a syndrome of action and intention myoclonus that occurs in some patients who survive a cardiac arrest. Using PET and statistical parametric mapping, the authors observed a significant bilateral increase in glucose metabolism in the ventrolateral thalamus and pontine tegmentum in patients relative to controls. Interventions such as deep brain stimulation that interrupt networks that involve these structures may be useful in patients with severe PHM.