What causes essential tremors?
Essential tremor is thought to be caused by electrical fluctuations in the brain that send abnormal signals out to the muscles. Several areas of the brain have been implicated in generating these abnormal signals. The signals travel through a variety of brain regions before they make it out to muscles. These regions include the cerebellum, red nucleus, globus pallidus, thalamus and cortex. Interruption of tremor signals along this pathway may be why thalamic (ventral intermediate thalamus – Vim) stimulation using a surgically implanted device is often effective in treating essential tremor.
