Essential tremor (ET) is a common inherited movement disorder whose causes remain unknown. The presence of spontaneous tremor in murine mutants may provide clues into the pathogenesis of ET. SCN8A encodes the neuronal voltage gated sodium channel Na(v)1.6 that is widely expressed in the central nervous system. Several mutations of Scn8a in the mouse result in congenital postural tremor of the extremities and head.
