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Myoclonic seizures (myo, meaning muscle—clonic, meaning jerk) are abrupt jerks of muscle groups. A hand may suddenly fling out, a shoulder may shrug, the foot may kick. Occasionally an entire body may jerk, as in a startle response. All myoclonic jerks are not seizures. Myoclonic jerks can come from the spinal cord, not just from the brain. They need not be abnormal. Normal individuals who are falling asleep may suddenly experience a jerk of the body and startle awake. This is a normal phenomenon called sleep myoclonus and is not a seizure.
Myoclonic seizures (formerly called minor motor seizures) may take many different forms. They probably arise, or at least the jerk arises, from deep structures in the brain stem that control posture and tone in the body.
An abrupt increase in tone in a muscle group will cause a sudden movement of that part of the body. An abrupt increase in tone in the flexor muscles will cause the body to bend forward at the waist, the head to drop down on the chest, the arms to bend at the elbow, or the knees to come up to the chest. Any or all of these movements may occur during a myoclonic jerk or during myoclonic seizures. If they occur when a child is standing, she may suddenly be thrown to the ground, perhaps hitting her face, breaking a tooth, or cutting her forehead. If the tone is suddenly increased in the extensor muscles, the head may be thrown back, the back may arch, the legs extend, and the arms stiffen. A child who is standing may be thrown backward to the ground.
Myoclonic seizures are serious because they may be difficult to control and because they are often only one manifestation of a mixed seizure disorder commonly associated with mental retardation.
Myoclonic seizures are like being jolted by an electric shock. They are single jolts. On rare occasions, infants and young children may experience a series of these jolts, sometimes even many series per day. Such a series of myoclonic jerks constitutes a special, serious form of epilepsy called “infantile spasms”.
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