Chapter 21 - Role of cerebellum in Parkinson's disease symptoms

Abstract

Parkinson's disease is characterized by a variety of motor and non-motor symptoms that arise from different regions of the central nervous system. Growing evidence indicates that pathological alterations in Parkinson's disease extend beyond the basal ganglia to other areas of the brain, such as the cerebellum, even though the nigro-striatal system is primarily affected. It is now recognized that the cerebellum plays a significant role in cognition, sleep, and emotion in addition to its primary function in motor control. Clinical, pathological, neurophysiological, structural, and functional neuroimaging data have been gathered over the last 10 years, and these findings unequivocally demonstrate a connection between Parkinson's disease and the cerebellum. The involvement of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology and clinical features of Parkinson's disease is summarized and updated in this chapter.