We developed an ultrasound-guided approach to the psoas compartment at the levels L2-3, L3-4, and L4-5. Feasibility and accuracy were tested on embalmed cadavers and verified by means of computed tomography. Ultrasound guidance proved to be feasible and accurate for the performance of psoas compartment blocks.

We investigated the feasibility of posterior paravertebral sonography as a basis for ultrasound-guided posterior lumbar plexus blockades. Posterior paravertebral sonography proved to be a reliable as well as accurate imaging procedure for visualization of the lumbar paravertebral region except the lumbar plexus.

The basal ganglia seem to be involved in emotional processing. Primary dystonia is a movement disorder considered to result from basal ganglia dysfunction, and the aim of the present study was to investigate emotion recognition in patients with primary focal dystonia. Thirty-two patients with primary cranial (n=12) and cervical (n=20) dystonia were compared to 32 healthy controls matched for age, sex, and educational level on the facially expressed emotion labeling (FEEL) test, a computer-based tool measuring a person's ability to recognize facially expressed emotions. Patients with cognitive impairment or depression were excluded. None of the patients received medication with a possible cognitive side effect profile and only those with mild to moderate dystonia were included. Patients with primary dystonia showed isolated deficits in the recognition of disgust (P=0.007), while no differences between patients and controls were found with regard to the other emotions (fear, happiness, surprise, sadness, and anger). The findings of the present study add further evidence to the conception that dystonia is not only a motor but a complex basal ganglia disorder including selective emotion recognition disturbances.