The Neurobiology of Parkinsons Disease Essay -- Biology Essays Resear

The Neurobiology of paralysis agitans DiseaseIn neuroscience it is assumed that the central nervous administration governs and defines only aspects of behavior (Grobstein, 1998). Therefore, the brain, the hub of the central nervous system, is responsible for integrating all sensory and motor patterning. To understand the mechanisms of neurobiology it is often useful to observe the nervous system at the level of the neuron. Integration and communication amid neurons is facilitated by neurotransmitters, chemicals which wager as intermediaries at the synaptic gap (Delcomyn, 1998). Many behavioral disorders sacrifice a neurochemical basis, oftentimes associated with abnormal neurotransmitter activity. These abnormalities are thought to stem from interactions between genetics and the environment. One of these disorders is paralysis agitans Disease, a progressive neurodegenerative disease which is characterized by a deficit in the neurotransmitter dopamine (NHGRI, 1998). paralysis ag itans Disease affects to a greater extent than a million Americans a year and is distributed reachly geographically, in some(prenominal) men and women, and between socio-economic classes (PD Web, 1998). Although the probability of developing the disease is somewhat equal in all populations, recent studies have shown that African-Americans and Asians are less apparent to exhibit Parkinsons symptoms than those of European descent (PD Web, 1998). It was branch formally set by British physician James Parkinson in 1817 as The quiver Palsy, however, it is thought that the disease has been around for thousands of years. Described as archean as 5000 B.C. in the Indian Ayurvedic medicinal tradition and in the Nei Jing, the first Chinese medical text 2500 years ago, Parkinsons disease has been a constant cha... ...ces Consulted1)Awakenings. 1998. Parkinsons Disease, Treatment Options. http//www.parkinsondisease.com/2)Cosgrove, G.R. 1998. Neurosurgery Web Page. Practical Information Re garding Stereotactic Pallidotomy for Parkinsons Disease. http//www.neurosurgery.mgh.harvard.edu/pd-pract.html3)Delcomyn, F. 1998. Foundations of Neurobiology. New York W.H. Freeman and Company. 4)Grobstein, P. 1998. Neurobiology and Behavior Lectures, Bryn Mawr College. 5)National Human Genome query Institute. 1998. Parkinsons Disease- Research News. http//www.genome.gov/DIR/LGDR/PARK2/background_info.html6)National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. NINDS Hope Through Research. http//www.ninds.nih.gov/healinfo/disorder/parkinso/pdhtr.htm7)PD Web Parkinsons Disease Website. 1998. http//www.pdweb.mgh.harvard.edu/IntroPD/Intro.html