The study of experimental models of parkinsonism has contributed to the knowledge of basal ganglia functions, as well as to the establishment of several hypothesis for the explanation of the cause and expression of central neurodegenerative disorders. In this review we present and discuss several models such as 6-hydroxydopamine, MPTP and manganese, all of them widely used to characterize the behavioral, cellular and molecular mechanisms of parkinsonism.
parkinsonism; 6-hydroxydopamine; MPTP; manganese; experimental models