Resting oscillatory cortico-subthalamic connectivity in patients with Parkinson’s disease

TLDR

Parkinson’s disease shows variable phenotypes and treatment responses, and imaging studies indicate that symptoms may arise from dysfunction in distinct basal ganglia networks. This study aimed to map cortico‑subthalamic networks in humans using a novel electrophysiological method. We recorded simultaneous magnetoencephalography and subthalamic local field potentials from thirteen Parkinson’s patients at rest to characterize these networks. Two spatially and spectrally distinct networks were found: a temporoparietal‑brainstem alpha (7–13 Hz) network and a frontal beta (15–35 Hz) network whose beta coherence increased with dopaminergic medication, with subthalamic activity predominantly driven by cortical activity, implicating attentional and executive/motor‑planning processes.

Abstract

Both phenotype and treatment response vary in patients with Parkinson's disease. Anatomical and functional imaging studies suggest that individual symptoms may represent malfunction of different segregated networks running in parallel through the basal ganglia. In this study, we use a newly described, electrophysiological method to describe cortico-subthalamic networks in humans. We performed combined magnetoencephalographic and subthalamic local field potential recordings in thirteen patients with Parkinson's disease at rest. Two spatially and spectrally separated networks were identified. A temporoparietal-brainstem network was coherent with the subthalamic nucleus in the alpha (7–13 Hz) band, whilst a predominantly frontal network was coherent in the beta (15–35 Hz) band. Dopaminergic medication modulated the resting beta network, by increasing beta coherence between the subthalamic region and prefrontal cortex. Subthalamic activity was predominantly led by activity in the cortex in both frequency bands. The cortical topography and frequencies involved in the alpha and beta networks suggest that these networks may be involved in attentional and executive, particularly motor planning, processes, respectively.