The EEG correlates of cerebellar fits.

16911, the term cerebellar fit is generally associated with the classical description of John Hughlings Jackson in 18712 of a five-year-old boy with a cerebellar abscess and tetanus-like episodes. Cerebellar fits consist of headaches, alteration of consciousness, rigid extensor posturing of the extremities with stiffness of the trunk and eventually respiratory compromise and death3. It is now known that cerebellar fits are associated with various entities, including tumor of the posterior fossa, encephalitis, acute hypoxia, herniation and any cause of sudden increase in intracranial pressure. The exact pathogenesis of these spells is still controversial: initially, cerebellar fits were considered an ictal phenomenon, but others suggested they