Fatigue and basal ganglia

Fatigue is a common symptom in neurology and occurs in the diseases of the central and peripheral nervous system. In order to understand the mechanism of fatigue, it is important to distinguish symptoms of peripheral neuromus cular fatigue from the symptoms of physical and mental fatigue characterist ic of disorders like Parkinson's disease or multiple sclerosis. We have int roduced and defined the concept of central fatigue for the latter disorders . We have further proposed, with supportive neuropathological data, that ce ntral fatigue may occur due to a failure in the integration of the limbic i nput and the motor functions within the basal ganglia affecting the striata l-thalamic-frontal cortical system. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V. All righ ts reserved.