Clinical neurophysiology of Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism

Clin Neurophysiol Pract. 2022 Jun 30:7:201-227. doi: 10.1016/j.cnp.2022.06.002. eCollection 2022.

Abstract

This review is part of the series on the clinical neurophysiology of movement disorders. It focuses on Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism. The topics covered include the pathophysiology of tremor, rigidity and bradykinesia, balance and gait disturbance and myoclonus in Parkinson's disease. The use of electroencephalography, electromyography, long latency reflexes, cutaneous silent period, studies of cortical excitability with single and paired transcranial magnetic stimulation, studies of plasticity, intraoperative microelectrode recordings and recording of local field potentials from deep brain stimulation, and electrocorticography are also reviewed. In addition to advancing knowledge of pathophysiology, neurophysiological studies can be useful in refining the diagnosis, localization of surgical targets, and help to develop novel therapies for Parkinson's disease.

Keywords: Bradykinesia; Deep brain stimulation; Electroencephalography; Electromyography; Gait and balance; Local field potentials; Long latency reflexes; Microelectrode recording; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; Tremor.

Publication types

  • Review