Phase-Amplitude Coupling in Parkinson’s Disease

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 methodolgy and results. It concludes with a short summary and further research questions.

Good to know:

Ideally, you are familiar with the basics of neuronal activity, especially the synchronization of neuronal population spiking. For example, you know that there are different frequency bands and different forms of cross-frequency coupling between neural oscillations. For an overview, see this paper on Neural Cross-Frequency Coupling.

Course:

Neuropsychology (during Exchange Semester at Bishop’s University), 2022, Dr. Jasmeen Sidhu