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Related Concept Videos

Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology01:24

Parkinson Disease ll: Pathophysiology

Parkinson disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder primarily affecting movement, with additional non-motor features. Its pathophysiology involves complex interactions among genetic susceptibility, environmental exposures, and cellular dysfunction, including dopaminergic neuron loss, protein aggregation, and mitochondrial impairment.Selective NeurodegenerationA key feature is the degeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta, leading to reduced...
Parkinson's Disease: Overview01:15

Parkinson's Disease: Overview

Neurodegenerative disorders are progressive diseases that cause irreversible damage and loss to neurons in specific brain areas. Examples of these disorders include Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, Multiple Sclerosis (MS), and Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). These disorders share characteristics such as proteinopathies, selective neuronal vulnerability, and a complex interplay between genetic and environmental factors. The primary therapeutic goal for these conditions is to...
Parkinson Disease l: Introduction01:24

Parkinson Disease l: Introduction

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that primarily affects movement. It is characterized by motor symptoms such as resting tremors, muscle rigidity, bradykinesia (slowness of movement), and postural instability. Patients may notice hand tremors at rest, stiffness during movement, or a shuffling gait. In addition to motor features, non-motor symptoms include sleep disturbances, mood and behavioral changes, constipation, and cognitive impairment, all of which...
Neural Regulation01:37

Neural Regulation

Digestion begins with a cephalic phase that prepares the digestive system to receive food. When our brain processes visual or olfactory information about food, it triggers impulses in the cranial nerves innervating the salivary glands and stomach to prepare for food.
Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology01:23

Alzheimer Disease ll: Pathophysiology

Alzheimer disease involves structural changes in the brain that begin long before symptoms appear. The most distinctive features are extracellular neuritic plaques and intracellular neurofibrillary tangles.Neuritic plaques form in the cerebral cortex and around blood vessels. These plaques contain a dense core of beta-amyloid (Aβ)—a toxic protein fragment that clumps outside neurons. The core is surrounded by damaged neuronal extensions, as well as reactive astrocytes and microglia. Abnormal...
Parkinson's Disease: Treatment01:24

Parkinson's Disease: Treatment

Neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's Disease (PD), involve the gradual and irreversible destruction of neurons in particular brain areas. These disorders exhibit standard features like proteinopathies, selective vulnerability of some neurons, and an interaction of intrinsic properties, genetics, and environmental influences in neural injury.
Parkinson's Disease is primarily a result of the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The cornerstone of its...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 2, 2026

Targeting Alpha Synuclein Aggregates in Cutaneous Peripheral Nerve Fibers by Free-floating Immunofluorescence Assay
08:33

Targeting Alpha Synuclein Aggregates in Cutaneous Peripheral Nerve Fibers by Free-floating Immunofluorescence Assay

Published on: June 25, 2019

Parkinson's disease, cortical dysfunction, and alpha-synuclein.

John N Caviness1, Lih-Fen Lue, Thomas G Beach

  • 1Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Scottsdale, Arizona, USA. jcaviness@mayo.edu

Movement Disorders : Official Journal of the Movement Disorder Society
|May 5, 2011
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Elevated alpha-synuclein in the motor cortex is linked to cortical myoclonus in Parkinson's disease (PD). This finding provides a model for studying cortical dysfunction in PD dementia.

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Sequential Extraction of Soluble and Insoluble Alpha-Synuclein from Parkinsonian Brains
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Last Updated: Jun 2, 2026

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Studying Pre-formed Fibril Induced α-Synuclein Accumulation in Primary Embryonic Mouse Midbrain Dopamine Neurons
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Sequential Extraction of Soluble and Insoluble Alpha-Synuclein from Parkinsonian Brains
09:27

Sequential Extraction of Soluble and Insoluble Alpha-Synuclein from Parkinsonian Brains

Published on: January 5, 2016

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Neurology
  • Pathology

Background:

  • Parkinson's disease (PD) neurodegeneration causes cortical dysfunction, impacting cognitive abilities and leading to PD dementia.
  • Understanding cortical dysfunction is crucial for developing effective therapeutic strategies for PD.
  • Small-amplitude cortical myoclonus in PD serves as a model for focal cortical dysfunction.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the link between cortical myoclonus in PD and abnormal alpha-synuclein levels in the primary motor cortex.
  • To determine the relationship between cortical myoclonus and biochemical, clinical, and pathological markers in PD.
  • To utilize cortical myoclonus as an in vivo model for studying focal cortical dysfunction in PD.

Main Methods:

  • Assessed primary motor cortex in 11 PD patients with cortical myoclonus, 8 PD patients without myoclonus, and 9 controls.
  • Performed premortem movement and cognitive testing on all participants.
  • Measured alpha-synuclein, Aβ-42 peptide, and other biochemical markers in the primary motor cortex.

Main Results:

  • A 36% increase in total alpha-synuclein was observed in the motor cortex of PD patients with myoclonus compared to those without.
  • No significant differences were found in insoluble alpha-synuclein, phosphorylated to total alpha-synuclein ratio, or Aβ-42 peptide levels.
  • Higher motor cortex alpha-synuclein levels correlated with cortical myoclonus but not with clinical or pathological findings.

Conclusions:

  • Elevated alpha-synuclein in the motor cortex is associated with cortical myoclonus in Parkinson's disease.
  • Cortical myoclonus represents a valuable model for studying motor cortex dysfunction in PD.
  • Alzheimer's disease pathology was not found to be associated with cortical myoclonus in PD.