Thalamic neuronal activity correlated with essential tremor

Abstract

Animal studies suggest that an olivocerebello-bulbospinal pathway mediates harmaline induced tremor, which resembles essential tremor in humans. However, recent evidence suggests that thalamocortical pathways participate in essential tremor. Thalamic single neuron activity has been analysed during thalamotomy for essential tremor. It has been shown by spectral cross correlation analysis that thalamic activity has a significant, linear relation to forearm EMG activity during tremor. The presence of this tremor related activity at the site where a lesion abolishes essential tremor suggests that the thalamus has an important role in the mechanism of essential tremor.