Distinct Parkinsonâs Disease Symptoms Tied to Different Brain Pathways
Identification of neural circuits clarifies motor vs. cognitive symptoms, aiding efforts to improve treatments
Lim Lab, UC San Diego
A three-dimensional rendering of a mouse hemisphere shows brain-wide projection patterns of GPe neurons labeled by mRuby2 (soma, axonal fibers) and eGFP (pre-synaptic sites).
Newswise Parkinson’s disease (PD) is well known as a debilitating disease that gradually worsens over time. Although the disease’s progression has been largely tied to the loss of motor functions, non-motor symptoms, including the loss of cognitive abilities, often emerge early in the disease.
Much less understood is the role that specific neural circuits play in these distinct motor and non-motor functions.