Bilateral symmetry and coherence of subthalamic nuclei beta band activity in Parkinson's disease

Abnormal synchronization of neuronal activity in the basal ganglia has been associated with the dysfunction of sensorimotor circuits in Parkinson's disease (PD). In particular, oscillations at frequencies within the beta range (13–35 Hz) are specifically modulated by dopaminergic medication and are correlated with the clinical state of the subjects. While these oscillations have been shown to be coherent ipsilaterally within the basal ganglia and between the basal ganglia nuclei and the ipsilateral motor cortex in PD, the bilateral extent of their coherence has never been characterized. Here we demonstrate for the first time that the beta band oscillations recorded in the local field potential of the subthalamic nuclei (STN), while appearing different across subjects, are occurring at the same frequencies bilaterally (p < 0.001) and are coherent between the two STNs of individual PD subjects (11/12 cases, p < 0.05). These findings suggest the existence of a bilateral network controlling the beta band activity in the basal ganglia in PD.