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Modulation of Beta Bursts in the Subthalamic Nucleus Predicts Motor Performance

Torrecillos, F; Tinkhauser, G; Fischer, P; Green, AL; Aziz, TZ; Foltynie, T; Limousin, P; ... Tan, H; + view all (2018) Modulation of Beta Bursts in the Subthalamic Nucleus Predicts Motor Performance. The Journal of Neuroscience , 38 (41) pp. 8905-8917. 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1314-18.2018. Green open access

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Abstract

Considerable evidence suggests a role of beta-band oscillations in voluntary movements. However, most of the studies linking beta power to motor performances are based on data averaged across trials that ignore the fast dynamics of oscillatory activity and variations in motor responses. Recently, emphasis has shifted from the functional implications of the mean beta power to the presence and nature of episodic bursts of beta activity. Here we test the hypothesis that beta bursts, though short in duration in more physiological state, may help explain spontaneous variations in motor behaviour of human adults at the single trial level. To this end we recorded local field potential activity from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of Parkinsonian patients of both genders whose motor behaviour had been normalised as far as possible through treatment with the dopamine prodrug, levodopa. We found that beta bursts present in a time-limited window well before movement onset in the contralateral STN reduce the peak velocity of that movement and that this effect is further amplified by the amplitude of the burst. Additionally, prolonged reaction times are observed when bursts occur immediately after the GO cue. Together, these results suggest that the modulation of the timing and amplitude of beta bursts might serve to dynamically adapt motor performance. These results offer new insight in the pathology of Parkinson's disease, and suggest that beta bursts whose presence and nature are modulated by context may have a physiological role in modulating behaviour.Significant statementBeta oscillations (∼13-30Hz) have been increasingly interpreted as transient bursts rather than as rhythmically sustained oscillations (Feingold et al., 2015). Prolonged and increased probability of beta bursts in the subthalamic nucleus correlates with the severity of motor impairment in Parkinson's disease (Tinkhauser et al., 2017a,b). However it remains unclear whether beta bursts act to modify motor performance on a trial-by-trial basis under more physiological condition. Here, we found that according to the time window in which they fall, beta bursts reduced the velocity of the forthcoming movement or prolonged the reaction time. These results offer new insight in the pathology of Parkinson's disease and suggest that the modulation of beta bursts might serve to dynamically adapt motor performance.

Type: Article
Title: Modulation of Beta Bursts in the Subthalamic Nucleus Predicts Motor Performance
Location: United States
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1314-18.2018
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.1314-18.2018
Language: English
Additional information: This version is the author accepted manuscript. For information on re-use, please refer to the publisher’s terms and conditions.
Keywords: Beta oscillations, beta bursts, Parkinson’s disease, motor performance, subthalamic nucleus, reaching movement
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > School of Life and Medical Sciences > Faculty of Brain Sciences > UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology > Clinical and Movement Neurosciences
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10056253
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