Compulsive somatosensory self-stimulation inducing epileptic seizures.

Three children who had been diagnosed as having infantile spasms with major psychomotor retardation were referred for the persistence of series of spasm-like seizures, which were resistant to antiepileptic drug treatment, beyond infancy. Serial seizures were elicited by a compulsive self-stimulating behavior that was documented by long-term video-polygraphy. These behaviors implicated proprioceptive inputs: tapping on the chin in one case, flexion and external rotation of the leg with dislocation of the femur in one case, a particular posturing of the body followed by rhythmic shaking of the head in the last case. This clinical picture seems to constitute a particular type of outcome for infantile spasms and is particularly resistant to therapy.