Phenomenology of Dystonia

Abstract

The concept of dystonia evolved during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Dystonia was initially believed to be psychogenic in nature [1]. Subsequently, in the late twentieth century, an organic etiology was more widely accepted. With careful observation, categorization of clinical phenotypes, and advances in genetics, several previously described disorders can be lumped together under the phenomenology of dystonia. Although there were descriptions of generalized dystonia and focal dystonia including writer's cramp and other occupational cramps in the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, it was not until the late twentieth century when a clearer understanding of the phenomenology of dystonia emerged. In this section, the history of generalized dystonia will be discussed first, and then focal dystonia will be reviewed.