title: Reduced pallidal output causes dystonia.
abstract: Dystonia is a neurological disorder characterized by sustained or repetitive involuntary muscle contractions and abnormal postures. In the present article, we will introduce our recent electrophysiological studies in hyperkinetic transgenic mice generated as a model of DYT1 dystonia and in a human cervical dystonia patient, and discuss the pathophysiology of dystonia on the basis of these electrophysiological findings. Recording of neuronal activity in the awake state of DYT1 dystonia model mice revealed reduced spontaneous activity with bursts and pauses in both internal (GPi) and external (GPe) segments of the globus pallidus. Electrical stimulation of the primary motor cortex evoked responses composed of excitation and subsequent long-lasting inhibition, the latter of which was never observed in normal mice. In addition, somatotopic arrangements were disorganized in the GPi and GPe of dystonia model mice. In a human cervical dystonia patient, electrical stimulation of the primary motor cortex evoked similar long-lasting inhibition in the GPi and GPe. Thus, reduced GPi output may cause increased thalamic and cortical activity, resulting in the involuntary movements observed in dystonia.
authors.affiliation: Division of System Neurophysiology, National Institute for Physiological Sciences and Department of Physiological Sciences, Graduate University for Advanced Studies Okazaki, Japan.
authors.forename: Atsushi
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nambu
authors.forename: Satomi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chiken
authors.forename: Pullanipally
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Shashidharan
authors.forename: Hiroki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nishibayashi
authors.forename: Mitsuhiro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ogura
authors.forename: Koji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Kakishita
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tanaka
authors.forename: Yoshihisa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Tachibana
authors.forename: Hitoshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kita
authors.forename: Toru
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Itakura