Objective: We evaluated whether low-β and high-β band activity recorded from the subthalamic nucleus (STN) region predicts efficacy of deep brain stimulation (DBS) in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and whether this prediction is frequency specific.

Background: Pathologic β oscillations in the STN mark the electrophysiologic target for DBS in PD. However, whether local β activity in the STN region can directly predict the stimulation outcome remains unclear.

Method: 26 patients with PD were included. The maximal normalized power in alpha (7–13 Hz), low-β (13–20 Hz), high-β (20–35 Hz), and low-γ (40–55 Hz) subbands in postoperatively recorded local field potential (LFP) were correlated with stimulation-induced improvement in contralateral tremor (Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale III, items 20–21) or bradykinesia–rigidity (items 22–26). The difference in depth (in mm) between the contact selected for stimulation and that with maximal power was also used to determine the correlation with stimulation efficacy. A regression analysis was performed to evaluate the predictors’ interaction with outcome.

Results: The maximal high-β power was positively correlated with bradykinesia–rigidity improvement (r_s = 0.549, p < 0.0001). Distance to the contact with maximal high-β was negatively correlated with bradykinesia–rigidity improvement (r_s = −0.452, p < 0.001). No significant correlation was observed with low-β. The max high-β power and the distance to the contact with max high-β were both significant predictors for bradykinesia–rigidity improvement in multiple linear regression, explaining 37.4% of the variance. Tremor improvement was not significantly correlated with any frequency.

Conclusion: High-β oscillations, but not low-β, recorded from the STN region with the DBS lead predict stimulation-induced improvement in bradykinesia–rigidity in PD, and can inform trajectory targeting and contact selection strategies for DBS therapy.

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MDS Abstracts - https://www.mdsabstracts.org/abstract/high-beta-oscillations-predict-outcome-of-subthalamic-deep-brain-stimulation-in-parkinsons-disease/