Specific frequency band of amplitude low-frequency fluctuation predicts Parkinson's disease

• PD has abnormal intrinsic neural oscillations in the corticostriatal network.
• The abnormal intrinsic neural oscillations in PD exhibit different spatial patterns.
• The frequency domain analyses may be useful to study the pathophysiology of PD.

Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (RS-fMRI) has been considered for development as a biomarker and analytical tool for evaluation of Parkinson's disease (PD). Here we utilized analysis of the amplitude low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) to determine changes in intrinsic neural oscillations in 72 patients with PD. Two different frequency bands (slow-5: 0.01–0.027 Hz; slow-4: 0.027–0.073 Hz) were analyzed. In the slow-5 band, PD patients compared with controls had increased ALFF values mainly in the caudate and several temporal regions, as well as decreased ALFF values in the cerebellum and the parieto-temporo-occipital cortex. Additionally, in the slow-4 band, PD patients relative to controls exhibited reduced ALFF value in the thalamus, cerebellum, and several occipital regions. Together, our data demonstrate that PD patients have widespread abnormal intrinsic neural oscillations in the corticostriatal network in line with the pathophysiology of PD, and further suggest that the abnormalities are dependent on specific frequency bands. Thus, frequency domain analyses of resting state BOLD signals may provide a useful means to study the pathophysiology of PD and the physiology of the brain's dopaminergic pathways.