BLACKSBURG, Va., June 19 -- Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University issued the following news release:
A new finding by a Virginia Techneuroscientist at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTCis challenging the way investigators study chronic neurological disorders such as dystonia, ataxia, and tremor.
All three disorders, which cause involuntary movements such as painful contortions, awkward postures, and shaking, stem from dysfunction in the brain's cerebellum.
Neuroscientists often focus on activity between two cell types as both a cause and a target for treating these diseases. In the cerebellum, Purkinje cells are known to inhibit activity in cells located in the deep cerebellar nuclei. Neuroscientists have assum...