The Experimental Evaluation of Antiparkinsonian Compounds

The Importance of Globus Pallidus in the Production of Rest Tremor

“…Other efferent fibres descend into the mesencephalon and end in the tegmentum where from they most probably proceed by the tegmentospinal and reticulospinal ways to the medulla spinalis (12). The destruction of these regions affects tremor in the same way as the destruction of the GP (24). As Vernier and Unna provoked rest tremor by the coagulation of the reticular formation (RF) (24) we found that region interesting for our investigations for it is not directly, anatomically or func tionally, connected with the striatum, although in Ward's opinion tremor is caused by the hyperactivity of tremorogenous cells in the RF of the brain stem (25).…”

Effects of anti- and pseudo-Parkinson drugs on shivering

“…Parkinson tremor (Solxman, 1957) and experimentally induced alternating tremor (Vernier and Unna, 1956) have been effectively blocked with less than 0. 5 mg/kg dose of atropine sulphate.…”

“…Atropine is a drug which suppresses Parkinson tremor (Sollrnan, 1957) while reserpine induces an alternating tremor with Parkinson characteristics (Barsa and Kline, 1955-6;Weber, 1954 Vernier and Unna, 1956). To explain this seeming=paradox Ward (1958) has hypothesized that the tremor is driven by "tremorogenic cells I in the midbrain that can be activated by electrical stimulation or become hyperactive after interruption of rostral fibers impinging upon them.…”

Comparison of the Electroencephalographic and Motor Effects of Orphenadrine, an Antiparkinson Agent

“…The destructive lesions (13,14) or electrical stimulation (15,16) of the reticular forma tion and the adjacent structures produced in cats and monkeys the rhythmically alternating parkinson-like tremors. The effective depression of the tremors by the centrally active anticholinergic and antiparkinson agents led Ward (21) to the hypothe3is that the excessive activation of the reticular formation by some cholinergic mechanism induced the parkin son tremors.…”

“…The blocking effects of the anticholinergic antiparkinson agents on the reticular ascending function (12) as well as the suppressing effects on the tremor induced either by destructive lesions in the midbrain tegmentum (12) and the reticular formation (14) or by electrical stimulation of these structures (15,16) indicate that the cholinergic mechanism is involved somewhere in the polysynaptic chains of the ascending and descending path ways from the midbrain.…”