Levodopa alters cortical communication in acinetic-rigid Parkinsonism

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder caused by a progressive loss of dopaminergic innervation. Besides tremor bradykinesia is one of the key symptoms of PD. There is growing evidence for the assumption that pathologically increased synchronization between spatially distributed brain areas at the beta range is intimately related to bradykinesia. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) provides non-invasively insights into the electrophysiology of the human brain. We recorded MEG-activity as well as surface electromyographic (EMG) activity of the forearm extensor in eight patients with acinetic-rigid PD.…