Scientists have identified a brain network and rhythm that may help explain why deep brain stimulation works for people with Parkinson’s disease, according to ScienceDaily.
The study, published in Brain, found that the treatment appears to work best when it targets a very specific network that communicates mainly in a fast beta frequency range, around 20 to 35 hertz. Researchers said this could help clarify how the therapy eases movement symptoms.
The work brought together experts from University Hospitals of Cologne and Düsseldorf, Harvard Medical School and Charité Berlin. It is described as the first study to combine electrophysiology and brain imaging to map the response network in both space and time.
Researchers studied 50 patients and 100 brain hemispheres, recording activity through implanted deep brain stimulation electrodes and magnetoencephalography. They found that the strength of the connection between the subthalamic nucleus and frontal brain regions was linked to how much patients’ motor symptoms improved after implantation.
The team says the findings could help doctors fine-tune deep brain stimulation settings more precisely in the future, especially for patients who have not had enough symptom relief from current treatment.
