Abstract
To characterize Parkinson’s disease, abnormal phase-amplitude coupling is assessed in the cortico-basal circuit using invasive recordings. It is unknown whether the same phenomenon might be found in regions other than the cortico-basal ganglia circuit. We hypothesized that using magnetoencephalography to assess phase-amplitude coupling in the whole brain can characterize Parkinson’s disease. We recorded resting-state magnetoencephalographic signals in patients with Parkinson’s disease and in healthy age- and sex-matched participants. We compared whole-brain signals from the two groups, evaluating the power spectra of 3 frequency bands (alpha, 8–12 Hz; beta, 13–25 Hz; gamma, 50–100 Hz) and the coupling between gamma amplitude and alpha or beta phases. Patients with Parkinson’s disease showed significant beta–gamma phase-amplitude coupling that was widely distributed in the sensorimotor, occipital, and temporal cortices; healthy participants showed such coupling only in parts of the somatosensory and temporal cortices. Moreover, beta- and gamma-band power differed significantly between participants in the two groups (P < 0.05). Finally, beta–gamma phase-amplitude coupling in the sensorimotor cortices correlated significantly with motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (P < 0.05); beta- and gamma-band power did not. We thus demonstrated that beta–gamma phase-amplitude coupling in the resting state characterizes Parkinson’s disease.
Highlights
To characterize Parkinson’s disease, abnormal phase-amplitude coupling is assessed in the cortico-basal circuit using invasive recordings
9 patients and 17 healthy study participants (HSPs) were excluded: patients and 5 HSPs were excluded because they fell asleep or moved during the resting-state recording; 2 patients and 7 HSPs were excluded because of metal artifact contamination; 1 patient and 5 HSPs were excluded because of equipment trouble; and 4 patients were excluded because of another movement disorder or motor impairment and a change in diagnosis to multiple system atrophy
After obtaining the results of significant beta–gamma phase-amplitude coupling (PAC), we further examined the cortical currents at three cortical areas of Human Connectome Project (HCP) parcellation with high beta–gamma PAC: sensorimotor, occipital and temporal cortices
Summary
To characterize Parkinson’s disease, abnormal phase-amplitude coupling is assessed in the cortico-basal circuit using invasive recordings. It is unknown whether the same phenomenon might be found in regions other than the cortico-basal ganglia circuit. Beta–gamma phase-amplitude coupling in the sensorimotor cortices correlated significantly with motor symptoms of Parkinson’s disease (P < 0.05); beta- and gamma-band power did not. Patients with Parkinson’s disease who were in a resting state were observed to have abnormal synchronization in cortico-basal ganglia circuits, including the subthalamic nucleus, globus pallidus internus, and primary motor cortex[1,2]. Excessive beta oscillations in the cortico-basal ganglia circuit have been shown to represent pathologic oscillations in Parkinson’s disease
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