Objective: The aim of this study is to test whether prolonged beta burst duration is disease-specific for Parkinson’s disease when compared to oscillatory activity in Dystonia.

Background: Exaggerated synchronization in the beta band has been proposed as disease-specific biomarker for Parkinson’s disease (PD). Recent findings suggest that increased beta power in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) relies on prolonged episodes of beta synchronization, so called beta bursts.

Methods: Pallidal local field potentials (LFP) were recorded from 5 PD-patients with and without dopaminergic medication and 5 Dystonia patients at rest. Bipolar LFP recordings were taken into the frequency domain using wavelet analysis and normalized to the standard score. A burst was defined when the instantaneous power exceeded the 75th percentile of the signal amplitude distribution in the peak frequency in the beta band. Episodes of beta bursts were compared between PD-OFF, PD-ON and Dystonia. The assessed beta burst features were the burst rate, amplitude and duration. Statistical analysis was conducted using permutation tests.

Results: Pallidal beta bursts were significantly longer but occurred less often in PD-OFF when compared to PD-ON (p<0.05) and Dystonia (p<0.05). Beta burst features were similar in PD-ON and Dystonia.

Conclusions: Prolonged duration of bursts seems a disease-specific characteristic for beta activity in PD in both the STN and the internal pallidum. With dopaminergic medication, beta bursts in PD are similar to those in Dystonia, which supports the concept of short beta synchronization episodes as physiological pattern.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/pallidal-beta-bursts-in-parkinsons-disease-and-dystonia/