Deconstructing motor and non-motor aspects of dystonia with neuroimaging

Dystonia, the third most common movement disorder, is clinically characterized by involuntary muscle contractions leading to abnormal, patterned movements and postures that are often activated or worsened by initiation of movement. In addition to motor features, the presence and contribution of non-motor features including sensory and psychiatric features is increasingly recognized. However, the underlying pathophysiology behind dystonia and its fascinating motor and non-motor presentations remains inadequately understood. Advances in neuroimaging may hold the key. This review outlines brain imaging studies, with an intentional focus on our work, conducted using different structural and functional neuroimaging modalities, focused on dystonia and its motor and non-motor clinical presentations. It highlights the different parts of the human brain that may be implicated with these aspects of this network disorder. Finally, current limitations and promising future directions to deconstruct this knot and take a leap forward are mentioned.