Beta-coupled high-frequency activity and beta-locked neuronal spiking in the subthalamic nucleus of Parkinson's disease

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Beta frequency (13-30 Hz) oscillatory activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of Parkinson's disease (PD) has been shown to influence the temporal dynamics of high-frequency oscillations (HFOs; 200-500 Hz) and single neurons, potentially compromising the functional flexibility of the motor circuit. We examined these interactions by simultaneously recording both local field potential and single-unit activity from the basal ganglia of 15 patients with PD during deep brain stimulation (DBS) surgery of the bilateral STN. Phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) in the STN was specific to beta phase and HFO amplitude, and this coupling was strongest at the dorsal STN border. We found higher beta-HFO PAC near DBS lead contacts that were clinically effective compared with the remaining non-effective contacts, indicating that PAC may be predictive of response to STN DBS. Neuronal spiking was locked to the phase of 8-30 Hz oscillations, and the spatial topography of spike-phase locking (SPL) was similar to that of PAC. Comparisons of PAC and SPL showed a lack of spatiotemporal correlations. Beta-coupled HFOs and field-locked neurons had different preferred phase angles and did not co-occur within the same cycle of the modulating oscillation. Our findings provide additional support that beta-HFO PAC may be central to the pathophysiology of PD and suggest that field-locked neurons alone are not sufficient for the emergence of beta-coupled HFOs.

Medical Subject Headings

Action Potentials (physiology); Basal Ganglia (physiology); Beta Rhythm (physiology); Brain Waves (physiology); Deep Brain Stimulation; Female; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neurons (physiology); Parkinson Disease (physiopathology, surgery); Severity of Illness Index; Subthalamic Nucleus (physiopathology, surgery)

Publication Date

9-17-2014

Publication Title

The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience

E-ISSN

1529-2401

Volume

34

Issue

38

First Page

12816

Last Page

27

PubMed ID

25232117

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1895-14.2014

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