VIDEO: Limbic system abnormalities play important role in functional movement disorders

CHICAGO – Mark Hallett, MD, chief of the motor control section at NINDS, discussed the pathology and etiology of functional neurological movement disorders at ANA 2022.
According to Hallett, functional disorders are multifactorial, which can differ among all people. In addition, an abnormality in the limbic system is one of the important factors for function disorders in terms of etiology, he said.
“It is conceivable that what happens is the limbic system generates abnormal signals in the brain that can potentially lead to, for example, abnormal movements, seizures, things of this sort,” he said. “Because of a disruption in the feed-forward/feedback system of the brain, this could then create an illness belief, [which] develops a life of its own, potentially.”