EEG changes and motor deficits in Parkinson's disease patients: Correlation of motor scales and EEG power bands

TL;DR

This study investigates the relationship between EEG power band changes and motor deficits in Parkinson's disease, revealing specific correlations that suggest EEG could serve as a biomarker for disease progression and rehabilitation effects.

Contribution

It provides new evidence linking EEG spectral power alterations to specific motor deficits in Parkinson's disease, enhancing understanding of neurophysiological markers.

Findings

Delta power correlates positively with gait freezing severity.

Alpha power inversely correlates with gait freezing severity.

EEG slowing is associated with overall motor decline.

Abstract

Over the years motor deficit in Parkinson's Disease (PD) patients was largely studied, however, no consistent pattern of relations between quantitative electroencephalography (qEEG) and motor scales emerged. There is a general lack of information on the relation between EEG changes and scales related to specific motor deficits. Therefore, the study aimed to investigate the relation between brain oscillatory activity alterations (EEG power bands) and most used PD-related motor deficit scales. A positive correlation was found between the freezing of the gait questionnaire (FOGQ) and delta spectral power band (rho=0.67; p=0.008), while a negative correlation with the same scale was observed in the alpha spectral power band (rho=-0.59, p=0.027). Additionally, motor scores measure by motor part of Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS) correlated directly with theta (rho=0.55, p=0.040) and inversely with beta EEG power band (rho=-0.77, p=0.001). No significant correlation was found between spectral powers and Hoehn and Yahr (H&Y), BERG (Berg K. et. al. 1995), Modified Parkinson Activity Scale (MPAS), Six-Minute Walk Test (6MWT) and Timed Up and Go Test (TUG). In conclusion, our study supports the earlier findings suggesting a link between EEG slowing and motor decline, providing more insight into the relation between EEG alteration and deficits in different motor domains. These findings indicate that EEG assessment may be a useful biomarker for objective monitoring of progression and neurophysiological effect of rehabilitation approaches in PD's.