Real-time feedback tames Parkinson's brainwaves

Real-time feedback tames Parkinson's brainwaves
Feedback system overview. Signals from the DBS electrodes were acquired in real time. The radius of the black circle on the computer screen was controlled based on the β-band power of the acquired bipolar signals from adjacent contacts that were selected in the pre-feedback session. Credit: Fukuma et al., eNeuro (2018)

A neurofeedback system enables Parkinson's disease patients to voluntarily control brainwaves associated with symptoms of the disorder, according to new research published in eNeuro. It remains to be determined whether such a system can provide symptom relief.

Parkinson's disease is associated with abnormal beta wave activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), but a direct connection between this activity and movement difficulties has not been established. In their study of eight patients undergoing a routine replacement of a pulse generator used for , Takufumi Yanagisawa and colleagues developed a method that could help scientists better understand the relationship between brain activity and disease symptoms.

By translating participants' real-time brain activity into a during a 10-minute , the researchers demonstrate the patients' ability to increase or decrease the size of a black circle with their thoughts alone.

This manipulation had a corresponding effect on STN beta waves measured after the training session.

Although the researchers did not observe an improvement in patients' symptoms, their study represents a new approach toward managing disease-related that could inform the development of new treatments.

More information: Real-time neurofeedback to modulate β-band power in the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's disease patients, DOI: www.eneuro.org/lookup/doi/10.1 … /ENEURO.0246-18.2018

Citation: Real-time feedback tames Parkinson's brainwaves (2018, December 17) retrieved 29 March 2024 from https://medicalxpress.com/news/2018-12-real-time-feedback-parkinson-brainwaves.html
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