What is the role of the cerebellum in the pathophysiology of dystonia?

Excerpt

Dystonia is one of the most common forms of movement disorder. It is caused by co-contraction of antagonistic muscle groups leading to abnormal postures and pain. As with many movement disorders, dystonia has long been thought to be due to disrupted basal ganglia signalling, although there is increasing evidence that it is a network-based disorder with involvement of multiple brain regions. There is increasing evidence to suggest that the cerebellum may also play a critical role in giving rise to dystonia, with transgenic murine models of the DYT1-form of dystonia demonstrating aberrant cerebellar pathways. Furthermore, neuroimaging studies have demonstrated decreased grey matter volume in the cerebellum as well as increased resting state functional connectivity between the cerebellum and sensorimotor areas. In this month’s journal club, we will be discussing three recent publications that seek to better understand the role of the cerebellum in dystonic disorders. …