Abstract
Primary dystonia is a movement disorder characterized by involuntary twisting movements and abnormal postures. It has been hypothesized that the pathophysiology of dystonia may arise from disturbed oscillatory connectivity between distant brain regions.An experimental setup of simultaneous local field potential (LFP) recordings from deep brain nuclei (here, globus pallidus internus) and whole-head magnetoencephalography (MEG) enables the investigation of cortico-subcortical connectivity patterns in patients with dystonia who underwent implantation of deep brain stimulation (DBS) electrodes. Our group previously described resting connectivity in three spatially distinct and frequency-specific cortico-pallidal networks: pallido-temporal coherence in the theta band (4-8 Hz), pallido-cerebellar coherence in the alpha band (7-13 Hz) and pallido-sensorimotor coherence in the beta band (13-30 Hz). The experimental approach also allows for investigation of task-specific changes in coherence between cortical and subcortical structures during motor processing. The methodology can easily be extended to emotional or cognitive processing, thereby opening a wide window for new research questions. Here, we demonstrate an investigation of pallido-sensorimotor beta band coherence during movement in a single illustrative patient.
