Final answer:
The surgical treatment for Parkinson's that involves burning brain tissues to reduce muscle spasms is called lesioning, specifically procedures like pallidotomy or thalamotomy. These procedures are designed to destroy overactive neural pathways to alleviate symptoms such as tremor and rigidity, which are part of the degenerative nature of Parkinson's disease.
Step-by-step explanation:
The surgical treatment for Parkinson's patients that involves burning or destroying tissues in the brain to ablate tissue in order to reduce muscle spasms is known as lesioning. Specific procedures, such as pallidotomy or thalamotomy, are performed to target regions of the brain associated with the motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. These treatments aim to control symptoms such as tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia, and postural instability by ablating overactive neural pathways that contribute to these symptoms.
Parkinson's disease is a degenerative brain disorder caused by the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra pars compacta. The motor symptoms of the disease stem from the resulting deficiency in dopamine, which impairs the normal functioning of the motor circuits. Medications like L-DOPA are used to increase dopamine levels and improve symptoms, but alas, patients often become less responsive to this treatment over time.