Neurology Edited by Professor Emeritus Desire' Dubounet, IMUNE

For cranial nerve stimulation the coil is placed ipsilaterally in a parieto-occipital position.Advantages and disadvantages1. A painless, non-invasive and rapid method of investigating central and peripheralmotor tracts, and suitable for extensive routine application.2. A supramaximal stimulus cannot be determined with certainty, and amplitudes musttherefore be used in a limited way, particularly in stimulation of the peripheral nervoussystem. The exact site of stimulation of peripheral nerves cannot be predetermined.IndicationsDefinition of the level of spinal and supraspinal disorders, demonstration of subclinicalpyramidal tract lesions (particularly multiple sclerosis, motor neuron disease), exclusion ofpsychogenic 'paralysis'; the early diagnosis of idiopathic facial palsy.ContraindicationsCardiac pacemakers, presence of ferromagnetic foreign bodies (particularly old aneurysmclips), severe cardiac arrhythmias, especially when cervical roots or brachial plexus are tobe stimulated, epilepsy.