Pallidal Beta Activity Is Linked to Stimulation-Induced Slowness in Dystonia

BackgroundPallidal deep brain stimulation (DBS) effectively alleviates symptoms in dystonia patients, but may induce movement slowness as a side-effect. In Parkinson's disease, hypokinetic symptoms have been associated with increased beta oscillations (13-30 Hz). We hypothesize that this pattern is symptom-specific, thus accompanying DBS-induced slowness in dystonia. MethodsIn 6 dystonia patients, pallidal rest recordings with a sensing-enabled DBS device were performed and tapping speed was assessed using marker-less pose estimation over 5 time points following cessation of DBS. ResultsAfter cessation of pallidal stimulation, movement speed increased over time (P < 0.01). A linear mixed-effects model revealed that pallidal beta activity explained 77% of the variance in movement speed across patients (P = 0.01). ConclusionsThe association between beta oscillations and slowness across disease entities provides further evidence for symptom-specific oscillatory patterns in the motor circuit. Our findings might help DBS therapy improvements, as DBS-devices able to adapt to beta oscillations are already commercially available. (c) 2023 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.

Automated summary

This study observed that movement speed gradually increased after cessation of pallidal stimulation in dystonia patients. The association between movement slowness and beta oscillations indicates symptom-specific oscillatory patterns in the motor circuit, which has implications for improving deep brain stimulation therapy.