The responses of subthalamic beta oscillations during voluntary movement in patients with Parkinson’s disease

The purpose of research

We researched the beta power and other electrophysiological markers alterations during voluntary movement in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients, in order to enhance the use of beta oscillations as a biomarker for currently developing closed-loop DBS (CL-DBS) system.

Methods

We recruited 24 patients with PD and recorded 120 sites in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) during micro-recording sessions during DBS implantation surgery. Both local field potentials (LFP) and single-units activities (SUA) were recorded concomitantly at one site during three consecutive phases: rest phase, voluntary movement phase, and post-movement rest phase. The electrophysiological data are then extracted and analyzed off-line to compare the alterations of these biomarkers during voluntary movement of the PD patients.

Results

Significant increases (17.53 % increase from baseline) in the beta oscillation power during voluntary movement (n = 208, p < 0.0001) was revealed. There was also an increase (6.79 % increase from baseline) in gamma power during voluntary movement (n = 208, p < 0.0001). Besides, there were also concomitant changes in the subthalamic spike rate and burst firing during voluntary movement.

Conclusions

The findings of alterations in beta and gamma oscillations power during voluntary movement of the PD patients will leverage the usefulness and effectiveness of these biomarkers for CL-DBS system.