Objective: This study aims to investigate the potential role of cerebellar dysfunction in the pathogenesis of tremor in Parkinson’s disease (PD).

Background: Rest tremor in Parkinson’s disease (PD) is disabling and responds often incompletely to conventional therapy. The pathogenesis remains largely unknown. Functional imaging, neurophysiology and structural studies, and stereotactic surgery point to an involvement of the cerebellum and the cerebello-thalamo-cortical pathway, but the precise nature remains unknown. These functional changes in the cerebellum may include pathological and compensatory mechanisms.

Methods: Cerebellar function can be tested by the eyeblink classical conditioning (EBCC), a form of associative motor learning, which depends on the integrity of the cerebellum and the olivo-cerebellar circuit. Fifteen PD patients with tremor (PD+tremor) and fifteen without (PD-tremor) were investigated compared to age-matched healthy controls. We assessed the associative motor learning in a delayed classical conditioning paradigm.

Results: Our findings suggest an impaired EBCC both in the PD-tremor and PD+tremor compared to healthy controls, which do not differ regarding tremor.  The rate of associative motor learning ranges widely from being preserved to complete abolition which appears to correlate rather with the disease progression.  

Conclusions: There is an impaired associative motor learning in PD suggesting a potential cerebellar dysfunction, which does not contribute to tremor pathogenesis. This cerebellar dysfunction may progress along with the neurodegenerative process in PD, which needs to be further explored.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/does-cerebellar-dysfunction-contribute-to-tremor-in-parkinsons-disease/