The pathophysiology of cervical dystonia is not completely understood. Current concepts of the pathophysiology propose that it is a network disorder involving the basal ganglia, cerebellum and sensorimotor cortex. These structures are primarily concerned with sensorimotor control but are also involved in non-motor functioning such as the processing of information related to the chemical senses. This overlap lets us hypothesize a link between cervical dystonia and altered sense of smell and taste. To prove this hypothesis and to contribute to the better understanding of cervical dystonia, we assessed olfactory and gustatory functioning in 40 adults with idiopathic cervical dystonia and 40 healthy controls. The Sniffin Sticks were used to assess odor threshold, discrimination and identification. Furthermore, the Taste Strips were applied to assess the combined taste score. Motor and non-motor deficits of cervical dystonia including neuropsychological and psychiatric alterations were assessed as cofactors for regression analyses. We found that cervical dystonia subjects had lower scores than healthy controls for odor threshold (5.8 ± 2.4 versus 8.0 ± 3.2; p = 0.001), odor identification (11.7 ± 2.3 versus 13.1 ± 1.3; p = 0.001) and the combined taste score (9.5 ± 2.2 versus 11.7 ± 2.7; p < 0.001), while no difference was found in odor discrimination (12.0 ± 2.5 versus 12.9 ± 1.8; p = 0.097). Regression analysis suggests that age is the main predictor for olfactory decline in subjects with cervical dystonia. Moreover, performance in the Montreal Cognitive Assessment is a predictor for gustatory decline in cervical dystonia subjects. Findings propose that cervical dystonia is associated with diminished olfactory and gustatory functioning.

中文翻译：

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颈肌张力障碍的嗅觉和味觉。

颈肌张力障碍的病理生理学尚未完全了解。病理生理学的当前概念提出它是一种涉及基底神经节、小脑和感觉运动皮层的网络障碍。这些结构主要与感觉运动控制有关，但也涉及非运动功能，例如与化学感觉相关的信息处理。这种重叠让我们假设颈肌张力障碍与嗅觉和味觉改变之间存在联系。为了证明这一假设并有助于更好地了解颈肌张力障碍，我们评估了 40 名患有特发性颈肌张力障碍的成年人和 40 名健康对照者的嗅觉和味觉功能。Sniffin Sticks 用于评估气味阈值、辨别和识别。此外，使用味觉条来评估综合味觉评分。颈肌张力障碍的运动和非运动缺陷包括神经心理和精神改变被评估为回归分析的辅助因素。我们发现颈肌张力障碍受试者在气味阈值（5.8 ± 2.4 对 8.0 ± 3.2；p = 0.001）、气味识别（11.7 ± 2.3 对 13.1 ± 1.3；p = 0.001）和综合味觉评分（ 9.5 ± 2.2 与 11.7 ± 2.7；p < 0.001），而在气味辨别方面没有发现差异（12.0 ± 2.5 与 12.9 ± 1.8；p = 0.097）。回归分析表明，年龄是颈肌张力障碍受试者嗅觉衰退的主要预测因素。此外，蒙特利尔认知评估中的表现是颈肌张力障碍受试者味觉下降的预测指标。