Category: Paper

Deep brain stimulation is a neurosurgical treatment for Parkinson’s disease to alleviate motor symptoms such as tremor, rigidity, and akinesia. In an attempt to improve this therapy, research suggests using measures of phase-amplitude coupling (a form of synchronization between different neural oscillations) as a control signal for deep brain stimulation therapy. The aim of this paper is to compare two studies with regard to the purported role of phase-amplitude coupling in Parkinson’s disease and deep brain stimulation therapy. The paper provides a brief introduction to Parkinson’s disease and cross-frequency coupling, in particular phase-amplitude coupling. It then analyzes the two studies mentioned above in terms of their methodology and results. It concludes with a short summary and further research questions