Ataxia (genus)

Ataxia, described by Haldeman in 1847, is an American genus of longhorn beetles of the subfamily Lamiinae, tribe Pteropliini.

Distribution

Ataxia is primarily widespread in South America, but several endemic species are present in Central America and in the Antilles. Only few species reach the South-western USA.

The genus includes 38 species:

Ataxia

Ataxia (from Greek α- [a negative prefix] + -τάξις [order] = "lack of order") is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that includes gait abnormality. Ataxia is a non-specific clinical manifestation implying dysfunction of the parts of the nervous system that coordinate movement, such as the cerebellum. Ataxia can be limited to one side of the body, which is referred to as hemiataxia. Several possible causes exist for these patterns of neurological dysfunction. Dystaxia is a mild degree of ataxia. Friedrich's ataxia has gait abnormality as the most commonly presented symptom.

Types

Cerebellar

The term cerebellar ataxia is used to indicate ataxia that is due to dysfunction of the cerebellum. The cerebellum is responsible for integrating a significant amount of neural information that is used to coordinate smoothly ongoing movements and to participate in motor planning. Although ataxia is not present with all cerebellar lesions, many conditions affecting the cerebellum do produce ataxia. People with cerebellar ataxia may have trouble regulating the force, range, direction, velocity and rhythm of muscle contractions. This results in a characteristic type of irregular, uncoordinated movement that can manifest itself in many possible ways, such as asthenia, asynergy, delayed reaction time, and dyschronometria. Individuals with cerebellar ataxia could also display instability of gait, difficulty with eye movements, dysarthria, dysphagia, hypotonia, dysmetria and dysdiadochokinesia. These deficits can vary depending on which cerebellar structures have been damaged, and whether the lesion is bilateral or unilateral.

Ataxia (disambiguation)

Ataxia is a neurological sign consisting of lack of voluntary coordination of muscle movements that includes gait abnormality.

Ataxia may also refer to:

Ataxia (album)

Ataxia is the sixth studio album released by alternative / psychedelic-rock band Circus Devils on October 31, 2008. All songs on Ataxia were written and performed by Robert Pollard, Todd Tobias, and Tim Tobias.

Reaction

"The music jumps from dark crawlspace paranoia to sexy swaggering rock to postpunk jerky new wave to ethereal planes of exultation, all within matters of seconds. One moment you’re bobbing your head and the next moment you’re terrified, asking yourself, “What’s going on here? This is scaring me.” And though Circus Devils have always followed whatever crooked and strange or delicately beautiful paths they’ve chosen, their records have gotten consistently more and more intricate, refined, bold, and solid, Ataxia being their most dynamic and strange offering as of yet."
- Steve Five for Skyscraper Magazine (issue #29)

"The determinedly annoying Circus Devils' sixth album finds Robert Pollard sounding like a peyote-visionary lumberjack who has wandered into a rehearsal by a 1970s progressive-rock band, then edited the giant jams down into exhilarating two-minute slivers. Ataxia is Yes’s Tales From Topographic Oceans remade in miniature from pottery fragments and human toenail clippings."
-- Stewart Lee for The London Sunday Times.