Cerebellar ataxia refers to ataxia due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. This causes a variety of elementary neurological deficits including asynergy (lack of coordination between muscles, limbs and joints), dysmetria (lack of ability to judge distances that can lead to under- or overshoot in grasping movements), and dysdiadochokinesia (inability to perform rapid movements requiring antagonizing muscle groups to be switched on and off repeatedly).

An unintentional, oscillating to-and-fro muscle movement about a joint axis.

Atonic seizure is a type of motor seizure characterized by a sudden loss or diminution of muscle tone without apparent preceding myoclonic or tonic event lasting about 1 to 2 seconds, involving head, trunk, jaw, or limb musculature.

A generalized myoclonic-atonic seizure is a type of generalized motor seizure characterized by a myoclonic jerk followed by an atonic motor component.

A delay in the achievement of motor or mental milestones in the domains of development of a child, including motor skills, speech and language, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. This term should only be used to describe children younger than five years of age.

Marked, involuntary jerking of the eyelids.

Persistent deficits in social interaction and communication and interaction as well as a markedly restricted repertoire of activity and interest as well as repetitive patterns of behavior.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a behavioral disorder that typically begins in childhood and is characterized by a short attention span (inattention), an inability to be calm and stay still (hyperactivity), and poor impulse control (impulsivity). Some people with ADHD have problems with only inattention or with hyperactivity and impulsivity, but most have problems related to all three features.\n\nIn people with ADHD, the characteristic behaviors are frequent and severe enough to interfere with the activities of daily living such as school, work, and relationships with others. Because of an inability to stay focused on tasks, people with inattention may be easily distracted, forgetful, avoid tasks that require sustained attention, have difficulty organizing tasks, or frequently lose items.\n\nHyperactivity is usually shown by frequent movement. Individuals with this feature often fidget or tap their foot when seated, leave their seat when it is inappropriate to do so (such as in the classroom), or talk a lot and interrupt others.\n\nIn most affected individuals, ADHD continues throughout life, but in about one-third of individuals, signs and symptoms of ADHD go away by adulthood.\n\nImpulsivity can result in hasty actions without thought for the consequences. Individuals with poor impulse control may have difficulty waiting for their turn, deferring to others, or considering their actions before acting.\n\nMore than two-thirds of all individuals with ADHD have additional conditions, including insomnia, mood or anxiety disorders, learning disorders, or substance use disorders. Affected individuals may also have autism spectrum disorder, which is characterized by impaired communication and social interaction, or Tourette syndrome, which is a disorder characterized by repetitive and involuntary movements or noises called tics.

Intellectual disability, previously referred to as mental retardation, is characterized by subnormal intellectual functioning that occurs during the developmental period. It is defined by an IQ score below 70.

Delayed myelination in the central nervous system.

A generalized non-motor (absence) seizure is a type of a type of dialeptic seizure that is of electrographically generalized onset. It is a generalized seizure characterized by an interruption of activities, a blank stare, and usually the person will be unresponsive when spoken to. Any ictal motor phenomena are minor in comparison to these non-motor features.

A myoclonic seizure is a type of motor seizure characterized by sudden, brief (<100 ms) involuntary single or multiple contraction of muscles or muscle groups of variable topography (axial, proximal limb, distal). Myoclonus is less regularly repetitive and less sustained than is clonus.

Hypotonia is an abnormally low muscle tone (the amount of tension or resistance to movement in a muscle). Even when relaxed, muscles have a continuous and passive partial contraction which provides some resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia thus manifests as diminished resistance to passive stretching. Hypotonia is not the same as muscle weakness, although the two conditions can co-exist.

The presence of an abnormal lateral curvature of the spine.

A generalized myoclonic-atonic seizure is a type of generalized motor seizure characterized by a myoclonic jerk followed by an atonic motor component.

Cerebellar dysfunction with variable cognitive and behavioral abnormalities (CECBA) is an autosomal dominant neurologic disorder with significant phenotypic heterogeneity, even within families. The disorder is most often diagnosed through genetic analysis with retrospective clinical phenotyping. Symptom onset is usually in early childhood, although later onset, even in adulthood, has been reported. Most affected individuals show global developmental delay from early childhood, particularly of motor and language skills. Many have mild intellectual disability; behavioral and psychiatric abnormalities such as autism and obsessive-compulsive disorder are also often observed. The movement disorder is prominent and may include cerebellar signs such as ataxia, tremor, dysmetria, poor coordination, and dysarthria. Other abnormal movements including spasticity, myoclonus, and dystonia have been reported, thus widening the phenotypic spectrum. Brain imaging is usually normal, but may show cerebellar atrophy or nonspecific white matter lesions. Variable dysmorphic facial features may also be present (summary by Thevenon et al., 2012; Jacobs et al., 2021; Wijnen et al., 2020).

Autosomal dominant intellectual developmental disorder-61 (MRD61) is characterized by global developmental delay apparent in infancy with mildly impaired intellectual development, expressive speech delay, and behavioral abnormalities, including autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Most affected individuals learn to walk on time or with some mild delay. Additional features are highly variable and may include nonspecific dysmorphic features, obstipation, ocular anomalies, and poor overall growth (Snijders Blok et al., 2018).

Autosomal dominant intellectual developmental disorder-60 with seizures is characterized by global developmental delay apparent in infancy, followed by onset of seizures in the first years of life. Patients have delayed walking, an ataxic gait, and moderately to severely impaired intellectual development with poor speech (summary by Helbig et al., 2019).

Yoon-Bellen neurodevelopmental syndrome (YOBELN) is an autosomal recessive disorder characterized mainly by global developmental delay with variably impaired intellectual development. The manifestations and severity of the phenotype are highly variable. Additional neurologic features may include hypotonia, spasticity, ataxia, hearing loss, visual problems, seizures, and nonspecific anomalies on brain imaging (summary by Yap et al., 2021).

Generalized epilepsy with febrile seizures plus type 12 (GEFSP12) is characterized by variable types of seizures, most often febrile seizures, sometimes combined with additional nonfebrile seizures, including focal or generalized seizures. Some mutation carriers do not have febrile seizures, but demonstrate focal, generalized, rare myoclonic-atonic seizures, or nonspecific epilepsy consistent with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (EIG; see 600669). The transmission pattern of GEFSP12 is consistent with autosomal dominant inheritance with variable expressivity within families and incomplete penetrance (Heron et al., 2021). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of GEFS+, see 604233.

Developmental and epileptic encephalopathy-116 (DEE116) is an autosomal dominant disorder characterized by severe developmental delay, seizures, and white matter abnormalities but normal plasma and cerebrospinal fluid biochemistry (Jones et al., 2024).