Abstract

Bradykinesia is the cardinal symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD). It is related to an abnormal
slowness of movement. The causes of PD bradykinesia are not known largely, because there are
multiple brain areas and pathways involved from the neuronal degeneration site (dopamine
neurons in substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) and ventral tegmental area (VTA)) to the muscles.
Bradykinesia models are mathematical and computational constructs attempting to uncover how
information is processed in the affected brain areas and what are the biophysical mechanisms
giving rise to the observed slowness of movement in PD bradykinesia.