Acute pathological laughter.

Darin T Okuda; Abraham S C Chyung; Cynthia T Chin; Emmanuelle Waubant

doi:10.1002/mds.20607

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Acute pathological laughter.

Darin T Okuda·Abraham S C Chyung·Cynthia T Chin·Emmanuelle Waubant

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Abstract

Pseudobulbar affect is a condition characterized by uncontrollable episodes of inappropriate laughing or crying that are disproportionate and discordant to the situation at hand. We report on a 16-year-old woman presenting with acute pathological laughter in the context of CNS demyelinating disease. Brain MRI scans fortuitously obtained before and after the onset of this symptom demonstrated acute gadolinium-enhancing lesions in the cerebral peduncles. The etiology of this condition remains theoretical; however, the results here provide further insights into the pathways of emotional control.

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Acute Disease Adjuvants, Immunologic Adolescent Affect Cerebrospinal Fluid Proteins Demyelinating Diseases Facial Paralysis Female Humans Interferon-beta Laughter Magnetic Resonance Imaging Multiple Sclerosis Social Behavior Spinal Cord Case Reports Journal Article

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Darin T Okuda, Abraham S C Chyung, Cynthia T Chin, Emmanuelle Waubant. 2005. Acute pathological laughter.. https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.20607

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