It’s not just a movement disorder. Besides causing tremors and other motion-related symptoms, Parkinson’s disease affects memory, learning, and behavior.

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The basal ganglia are a group of brain structures that lie deep within the brain (“ganglia” is the plural form of “ganglion”). They are important for voluntary control of movement and for action selection – the ability to choose one of several possible sequences of motor movements in order to achieve a goal, such as reaching out a hand to pick up one of several pieces of food, or choosing one card from a deck of cards. The basal ganglia are strongly influenced by the frontal lobes, which may help decide what particular goal is being pursued at the current moment.

One part of the basal ganglia is the substantia nigra, which produces the neurotransmitter known as dopamine. Parkinson’s disease is caused by the death of cells in the substantia nigra, and this leads to disrupted functioning of the basal ganglia as a whole, which in turn produces the characteristic symptoms of Parkinson’s disease, such as tremor, dyskinesia, and trouble initiating voluntary movements.