In: Nursing
Case Study on Basal Nuclei
A 55 year old man is seen by a nurse practitioner as his family reports that he has tremors at rest and difficulty walking. On evaluation, it is observed that he had difficulty initiating walking and stopping. He has a mask-like facial expression and displays no signs of dementia or depression. He is diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. The patient is prescribed a course of L-Dopa to treat his disorder.
1. Which masses of gray matter are not able to perform their functions optimally, resulting in this
patient losing proper muscle control?
2. Which structure in the midbrain secretes dopamine that affects skeletal muscle control?
3. What is the role of dopamine in the maintenance of resting muscle tone and muscle
recruitment for movement?
4. The basal nuclei receive synaptic input from the primary motor cortex and sends their output to the
thalamus which relays this information back to the motor areas of the brain. What would happen to
muscle control if a person suffers a stroke that damages the basal nuclei?
5. Why are Parkinson’s patients not given dopamine but L Dopa, which is then converted to
dopamine in the brain?