[CITATION][C] Parkinsonian Symptomatology An Anatomical and Physiological Analysisa a

WC Miller, MR DeLONG - Annals of the New York Academy of …, 1988 - Wiley Online Library
Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1988Wiley Online Library
The parkinsonian syndrome includes disturbances of motor function such as akinesia,
bradykinesia, tremor and rigidity, disturbances of eye movements, and cognitive impairment.
It is difficult to understand how a relatively small and specific lesion of midbrain dopamine
neurons could produce such a diverse syndrome. Tko recent developments permit a
reexamination of this question:(1) the increased understanding of the anatomical relations
between the basal ganglia and the cerebral cortex, and (2) the development of a suitable …
The parkinsonian syndrome includes disturbances of motor function such as akinesia, bradykinesia, tremor and rigidity, disturbances of eye movements, and cognitive impairment. It is difficult to understand how a relatively small and specific lesion of midbrain dopamine neurons could produce such a diverse syndrome. Tko recent developments permit a reexamination of this question:(1) the increased understanding of the anatomical relations between the basal ganglia and the cerebral cortex, and (2) the development of a suitable primate model of parkinsonism using the neurotoxin MPTP. In recent years, a system of functionally segregated parallel basal ganglia-thalamocortical circuits has been proposed. In this scheme, the basal ganglia and the related portions of the thalamus are viewed as components of larger cortico-subcortical circuits whose ultimate influences are directed upon specific cortical areas. It therefore follows that the functional contributions of the basal ganglia must be considered in terms of their influences on these cortical areas. Moreover, disturbances in basal ganglia function, as occur in neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, must result in part from abnormal cortical output. The recent development of the MPTP model of Parkinson’s disease has provided the opportunity to study the changes in neuronal activity within the basal ganglia and to delineate further the pathophysiologic basis of this disorder. In the following discussion, we will consider the impairments in Parkinson’s disease in light of this newly acquired data.
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