Research hope for Parkinson's sufferers

Jeni Harvey

NEW cures for Parkinson’s disease could be developed thanks to research soon to be published by a Sheffield University-led team of academics.

The international collaboration, led by Professor Peter Redgrave from the university’s psychology department, suggests that problems suffered by Parkinson’s patients – such as tremors and laboured movement – could be treated by removing part of the brain.

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The analysis, which is published online and will appear in the November issue of Nature Reviews Neuroscience, explains the possible benefits of removing the part of the basal ganglia – one of the brain’s important processing units – which is responsible for habitual behaviour.

A spokesman for Sheffield University said: “The basal ganglia is part of two behavioural control circuits – habitual control, which directs our fast, stimulus-driven, largely unconscious movements and voluntary goal-directed control, which is driven by a conscious appreciation of the action’s outcome.

“This means goal-directed movements are typically slower, require effort, and can only be done one at a time. Different regions of the basal ganglia are involved in goal-directed and habitual control.”

Many of the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease could be understood in terms of a loss of habits, he said, but for a patient with Parkinson’s disease to express goal-directed behaviour, they had to overcome distorting signals from the malfunctioning habitual control system.”

Professor Redgrave’s team proposes that removal of “distorting” output from habitual control circuits could make it easier for Parkinson’s sufferers to express “goal-directed” behaviour.