Oscillatory Communication between Cerebral Areas Associated with Essential Tremor

With an estimated prevalence of about 5%, essential tremor (ET) is the most frequent movement disorder. Nevertheless, the pathophysiological mechanisms giving rise to this usually bilateral 5–9Hz action tremor which mostly affects the upper extremities are still largely unknown. There is accumulating evidence that ET is at least partly of central origin. Animal models suggest an involvement of the inferior olive. PET and fMRI studies showed activation in several brain areas including cerebellum, thalamus and primary motor cortex, and an EEG-EMG coherence study demonstrated involvement of the primary sensorimotor…