β Oscillations of Dorsal STN as a Potential Biomarker in Parkinson’s Disease Motor Subtypes: An Exploratory Study

Parkinson’s disease (PD) can be divided into postural instability and difficult gait (PIGD) and tremor dominance (TD) subtypes. However, potential neural markers located in the dorsal ventral side of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) for delineating the two subtypes of PIGD and TD have not been demonstrated. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the spectral characteristics of PD on the dorsal ventral side. The differences in the β oscillation spectrum of the spike signal on the dorsal and ventral sides of the STN during deep brain stimulation (DBS) were investigated in 23 patients with PD, and coherence analysis was performed for both subtypes. Finally, each feature was associated with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS). The β power spectral density (PSD) in the dorsal STN was found to be the best predictor of the PD subtype, with 82.6% accuracy. The PSD of dorsal STN β oscillations was greater in the PIGD group than in the TD group (22.17% vs. 18.22%; p < 0.001). Compared with the PIGD group, the TD group showed greater consistency in the β and γ bands. In conclusion, dorsal STN β oscillations could be used as a biomarker to classify PIGD and TD subtypes, guide STN-DBS treatment, and relate to some motor symptoms.