Insights into Motor Coordination — Neurological movement disorders such as dystonia cause involuntary muscle movements that lead to muscle spasms or cramps. Dr. Kamran Khodakhah and colleagues have published a study in the November 17, 2014 issue of Nature Neuroscience that provides insights into how some forms of dystonia develop. They examined how information needed for coordinated movements is communicated among the brain’s cerebellum, basal ganglia and motor cortex regions. They found that communication pertaining to movement can be transmitted directly from the cerebellum to basal ganglia independent of the cortex, a shortcut crucial for fast movements. They also found that, in mice with dystonia, this pathway allows abnormal activity to be transferred from the cerebellum to the basal ganglia, causing impaired movement and coordination. Dr. Khodakhah is professor and interim chair of the Dominick P. Purpura Department of Neuroscience and holds theHarold and Muriel Block Chair in Neuroscience. The first author on the study was Dr. Christopher Chen, a graduate student in neuroscience who recently completed the successful defense of his thesis.
Posted on: Thursday, February 12, 2015