What Happens in Parkinson's Disease
All this information is compiled by the brain in a central area of the brain, called the striatum, which controls many aspects of bodily motion. The striatum works with other areas of the brain, including a part called the substantia nigra, to send out the commands for balance and coordination. These commands go from the brain to the spinal cord through nerve networks to the muscles that will then help you to move.
The entire nervous system is made up of individual units called nerve cells. Nerve cells serve as a "communication network" within your body. To communicate with each other, nerve cells use a variety of chemical messengers called neurotransmitters. Neurotransmitters carry messages between nerve cells by crossing the space between cells, called the synapse.