Some observations on electroencephalograms of myoclonus epilepsy.

Electroencephalographic observations of four cases of myoclonus epilepsy are reported. A feature in EEG findings was that spikes became more prominent in the later stage of illness. Photic stimulation had a distinct activating effect on producing paroxysms, and an increase in number of paroxysms depended not on the frequency of stimulus but on the intensity. A sleep EEG showed ill-formed humps and sigma rhythm with infrequent paroxysms. It is suggested that these observations might be due to a disturbance in the function of subcortical structures.