Researchers have identified how two different populations of neurons in the striatum are affected differently in Huntington's disease. The neurodegeneration of one of these populations leads to motor defects while damage to the other population located in striosomes may account for mood disorders associated with the early stages of Huntington's.
MIT neuroscientists find two distinct cell populations in the striatum are affected differently by Huntington’s disease. They believe neurodegeneration of one of these populations leads to motor impairments, while damage to the other population, located in a structure called the striosome, may account for the mood disorders that are often see in the early stages of the disease.
Neurons in the striatum, a part of the brain affected by Huntington disease, are among the most severely affected. The degeneration of these neurons contribut