Images: polysomnographic findings of nystagmus caused by a midbrain hemorrhagic stroke

Abstract

Brainstem strokes can present with an array of ophthalmologic findings depending on the location of the lesion. Eye movements are recorded on electrooculogram during polysomnography for sleep staging. We present the case of a patient with a dorsal midbrain hemorrhagic stroke and nystagmus with distinct findings on the electrooculogram during polysomnography. These eye movements from nystagmus differed in many aspects (frequency and amplitude) from the classic findings of other eye movements recorded during different stages of sleep. These polysomnography findings have not been reported in the setting of midbrain stroke. Future studies comparing nystagmus in multiple sleep stages in stroke patients would be of interest.