ABSTRACT
Parkinson’s disease is a neurodegenerative disease only occurring among the human species. On a pathophysiological level, a selective process of cell destruction is observable (Braak et al. 2004). It progresses from the enteric nervous system (neurons in the stomach and intestine) to the central nervous system in a stereotypical manner (ibid.). Once it reaches the symptomatic stage, the clinical phenotype of a complex, yet incurable movement disorder along with a variety of psychosocial consequences emerges. The chief symptoms are tremor (involuntary movement of the hand), rigidity, akinesia (inability to initiate or slowness of movement) and postural instability (inability to keep one’s body in a stable or balanced position). As a consequence, the human body begins to take on a life of its own: “The first and most natural instrument of man” (Mauss 1989) defies control by its owner. There is a general decrease in the ability to catch artefacts, walk, speak, and perform gestures. Habitualized motoric skills in private and professional settings decline.
