The effect of beta-neurofeedback on beta-bursts in Parkinson’s disease patients as evidenced through deep brain recordings
Objectives - Increased beta-oscillations (13-35 Hz) in the basal ganglia have been linked to Parkinsonian motor symptoms. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) approaches have been proposed to mitigate pathological beta-activity, with some leading to a global suppression of this activity and others selective...
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| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article (Journal) |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
February 2026
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| In: |
Neurophysiologie clinique
Year: 2026, Volume: 56, Issue: 1, Pages: 1-9 |
| ISSN: | 1769-7131 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neucli.2025.103122 |
| Online Access: | Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neucli.2025.103122 Verlag, kostenfrei, Volltext: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0987705325000802 
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| Author Notes: | Oliver Bichsel, Stephen Bacchi, Mehdi Hajiabadi, Franziska Schmidt, Lennart Stieglitz |
| Summary: | Objectives - Increased beta-oscillations (13-35 Hz) in the basal ganglia have been linked to Parkinsonian motor symptoms. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) approaches have been proposed to mitigate pathological beta-activity, with some leading to a global suppression of this activity and others selectively trimming beta-bursts leading to a redistribution of beta-bursts towards shorter, more physiological, durations. Recently, DBS electrode-guided neurofeedback has been explored as an alternative, endogenous technique enabling patients to acquire mental strategies to modulate ongoing subthalamic beta-activity. Here, we investigated the effect of DBS-neurofeedback on beta-burst prevalence, amplitude, and duration. - Methods - We characterised the local field potential (LFP) in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) in terms of beta-burst prevalence, amplitude and length during DBS electrode-guided neurofeedback-modulation of ongoing subthalamic beta-activity. - Results - We previously showed that a cohort of eight Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients with externalised DBS electrodes was able to volitionally control ongoing beta-oscillatory activity by visual neurofeedback within minutes of training, which was also accompanied by an improvement in motor performance. Here, we additionally demonstrate a decrease in beta-burst (> 0.1 s) durations, amplitude and prevalence when transitioning from rest to downregulation after neurofeedback-learning. In addition, downregulation vs. upregulation also resulted in shorter and lower amplitude beta-bursts (>0.1 s) after neurofeedback. - Discussion - DBS electrode-guided neurofeedback enabled patients with PD to exert control over subthalamic beta-oscillations, with downregulation in particular leading to a redistribution of beta-burst characteristics towards more physiological states. This technique may represent a complementary approach to existing DBS strategies by providing patients with an endogenous means of modulating pathological beta-activity. |
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| Item Description: | Online verfügbar: 4. Dezember 2025 Gesehen am 10.02.2026 |
| Physical Description: | Online Resource |
| ISSN: | 1769-7131 |
| DOI: | 10.1016/j.neucli.2025.103122 |