This complex brain network may explain many of Parkinson's stranger symptoms

""It almost feels like a tunnel is jammed, so no traffic can go normally," says Hesheng Liu, a brain scientist at Changping Laboratory and Peking University in Beijing and an author of the study. The finding fits nicely with growing evidence that Parkinson's is a network disorder, rather than one limited to brain areas that control specific movements, says Peter Strick, a professor and chair of neurobiology at the University of Pittsburgh who was not involved in the study."

"Other degenerative brain diseases affect other brain networks in different ways. Alzheimer's, for example, tends to reduce connectivity in the default mode network, which supports memory and sense of self. ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis) primarily damages the motor system network, which controls movement. Understanding the network affected by Parkinson's, which affects about 1 million people in the United States, could change the way doctors treat the disease."

Parkinson's disease causes tremor, gait impairment, sleep disturbances, loss of smell, digestive problems, and cognitive decline. The disease disrupts communication in a distributed brain network that links bodily functions and cognitive processes. Network disruption can produce variable, context-dependent symptoms such as sudden starts in emergencies or freezing during conversation. Parkinson's behaves as a network disorder rather than one confined to motor-control regions. Other neurodegenerative diseases target different networks: Alzheimer's reduces default-mode network connectivity supporting memory and self, and ALS primarily damages the motor system network. Identifying the Parkinson's-affected network could alter treatment strategies.

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