Effects of Alprazolam on cortical activity and tremors in patients with essential tremor

Essential tremor (ET) is characterised by postural and action tremors with a frequency of 4–12 Hz. Previous studies suggest that the tremor activity originates in the cerebello-thalamocortical pathways. Alprazolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine that attenuates tremors in ET. The mechanisms that me...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Ibáñez Pereda, Jaime, González de la Aleja, Jesús, Gallego, Juan Álvaro, Romero, Juan Pablo, Saíz-Díaz, Rosana A., Benito-León, Julián, Rocón, Eduardo
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Estado:Versión publicada
Fecha de publicación:2014
País:España
Institución:Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas (CSIC)
Repositorio:DIGITAL.CSIC. Repositorio Institucional del CSIC
OAI Identifier:oai:digital.csic.es:10261/102634
Acceso en línea:http://hdl.handle.net/10261/102634
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Essential tremor
Alprazolam (benzodiazepine)
Cortical activity
Descripción
Sumario:Essential tremor (ET) is characterised by postural and action tremors with a frequency of 4–12 Hz. Previous studies suggest that the tremor activity originates in the cerebello-thalamocortical pathways. Alprazolam is a short-acting benzodiazepine that attenuates tremors in ET. The mechanisms that mediate the therapeutic action of alprazolam are unknown; however, in healthy subjects, benzodiazepines increase cortical beta activity. In this study, we investigated the effect of alprazolam both on beta and tremor-related cortical activity and on alterations in tremor presentation in ET patients. Therefore, we characterised the dynamics of tremor and cortical activity in ET patients after alprazolam intake.