Trial Parameters
Brief Summary
To date, there is only limited knowledge about the distinct neural abnormalities that lead to the development of different forms of focal dystonia. The goal of this study is to dissect the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this clinical phenomenon using multi-level brain network analysis in patients with focal dystonia.
Eligibility Criteria
Inclusion Criteria: * Patients will have clinically documented focal dystonia * Unaffected relatives of patients with focal dystonia * Healthy controls will be healthy volunteers with a negative history of neurological, laryngeal or psychiatric problems * Age from 21 to 80 years. * Native English speakers. * Right-handedness (based on Edinburgh Handedness Inventory). Exclusion Criteria: * Subjects who are incapable of giving an informed consent. * Pregnant or breastfeeding women until a time when they are no longer pregnant or breastfeeding. All women of childbearing potential will have a urine pregnancy test performed, which must be negative for participation in the imaging studies. * Subjects with past or present medical history of (a) neurological problems, such as stroke, movement disorders (other than dystonia in the patient groups), brain tumors, traumatic brain injury with loss of consciousness, ataxias, myopathies, myasthenia gravis, demyelinating diseases, alcoholism, drug dep