PONTINE SUPRANUCLEAR FACIAL PALSY

Two patients presented with a unilateral supranuclear facial palsy. Additional dysarthria was attributed to the pontine origin documented by magnetic resonance imaging on the contralateral side. The pontine disorder also was indicated by an isolated delay of the blink reflex R1 component or of the masseter reflex. We attribute the facial palsy to a lesion of a supranuclear fiber bundle supplying the facial nucleus. The location of the lesions favors these fibers taking a separate course from the main pyramidal tract at the mid- to upper pontine level.