PSYB65H3 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: Substantia Nigra, Excitatory Synapse, Axon Terminal
Document Summary
In part because hormones travel throughout the body to distant targets, their action is slower than that of cns neurotransmitters prodded by the lightning-quick nerve impulse: there are 60 neurotransmitters. In the 1817 essay from which this case study is taken, british physician james parkinson reported similar symptoms in six patients, some of whom he had observed only in the streets near his clinic. Shaking was usually the first symptom, and it typically began in a hand. Over a span of years, the shaking spread to include the arm and then other parts of the body: patients had difficulty eating and swallowing. Eventually, the patients lost all muscular control and were unable to sleep because of the disruptive tremors: more than 50 years after james parki(cid:374)so(cid:374)"s des(cid:272)riptio(cid:374)s, fre(cid:374)(cid:272)h (cid:374)eurologist jean- Marti(cid:374) charcot (cid:374)a(cid:373)ed the co(cid:374)ditio(cid:374) parki(cid:374)so(cid:374)"s disease, known today as parkinson disease. Three findings have helped researchers understand its neural basis.
