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Copyright © 1999, The National Academy of Sciences Neurobiology Thalamocortical dysrhythmia: A neurological and neuropsychiatric syndrome characterized by magnetoencephalography *Department of Physiology and Neuroscience, New York University School of Medicine, 550 First Avenue, New York, NY 10016; ‡Universitätsspital Zurich, Neurochirurgische Klinik, Sternwartstrasse 6, CH-8091 Zurich, Switzerland; and §Bell Laboratories, Lucent Technologies, 600 Mountain Avenue, Murray Hill, NJ 07974 †To whom reprint requests should be addressed. E-mail: llinar01/at/popmail.med.nyu.edu. Contributed by Rodolfo R. Llinás Accepted October 21, 1999. This article has been cited by other articles in PMC.Abstract Spontaneous magnetoencephalographic activity was recorded in awake, healthy human controls and in patients suffering from neurogenic pain, tinnitus, Parkinson's disease, or depression. Compared with controls, patients showed increased low-frequency θ rhythmicity, in conjunction with a widespread and marked increase of coherence among high- and low-frequency oscillations. These data indicate the presence of a thalamocortical dysrhythmia, which we propose is responsible for all the above mentioned conditions. This coherent θ activity, the result of a resonant interaction between thalamus and cortex, is due to the generation of low-threshold calcium spike bursts by thalamic cells. The presence of these bursts is directly related to thalamic cell hyperpolarization, brought about by either excess inhibition or disfacilitation. The emergence of positive clinical symptoms is viewed as resulting from ectopic γ-band activation, which we refer to as the “edge effect.” This effect is observable as increased coherence between low- and high-frequency oscillations, probably resulting from inhibitory asymmetry between high- and low-frequency thalamocortical modules at the cortical level. Keywords: edge effect, θ activity, γ activity, humans In recent years it has become evident that neuronal rhythmicity and its consequence, ensemble neuronal oscillation and resonance, are deeply related to the emergence of brain functions (1, 2). Prominent in these studies was the linking of high-frequency oscillations in the γ domain (25–50 Hz) with sensorimotor (3, 4) and cognitive functions (5–12). Although the exact mechanism by which such coherent activity ultimately results in conscious experience is still under debate, there is little doubt that slow oscillatory activity, as observed in phase four of the sleep cycle, cannot presently be correlated with cognition (9). Here we report a set of studies concerning the presence of slow thalamocortical oscillation in the θ-frequency band (4–8 Hz) in awake human patients who present a wide variety of neurological and psychiatric conditions. These results are in complete accordance with single-unit, medial thalamic recordings, made during stereotactic surgery in patients suffering from the same diseases. These recordings show the presence of low-threshold spike (LTS) bursting activity with a θ rhythmicity (13). Methods Subjects and Patients. In this study, we analyzed spontaneous brain activity from nine healthy control subjects and from nine patients suffering from chronic, severe, and therapy-resistant neurological or neuropsychiatric disorders. Control subjects ranged between 24 and 45 years old; patients ranged between 28 and 73 years old. The patient population included four patients diagnosed with Parkinson's disease (three akinetic–choreatic forms and one tremulant form), one patient with tinnitus, two patients with neurogenic pain (one trigeminal and one upper-limb phantom pain), and two patients with major depression. Patients were carefully selected by using standard neurological/psychiatric diagnostic procedures. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) Recordings and Analysis. Magnetic recordings were obtained at our laboratory with a whole-head, 148-channel MEG system Magnes 2500 WH (Biomagnetic Technologies, San Diego). During the recording sessions, the subject was placed on a bed with the MEG recording port (Fig. (Fig.11
MEG Analysis. Continuous MEG raw data were analyzed on a LINUX cluster computer system, by using in-house software and commercial Matlab analysis software packages. Computational Methods. MEG data have a low signal-to-noise ratio and a large dynamic range, which make it a challenging data analysis problem. Although spectral analysis is an old subject, with a number of different techniques currently in use in EEG and MEG literature, we have benefited substantially from the usage of a modern framework for performing spectral analysis, the multitaper technique (14). This technique elegantly resolves the problems of bias and variance in spectral estimation, by averaging over a set of orthogonal basis functions, the so-called Slepian sequences (15). These sequences wk(t) form a sequence of orthogonal functions, defined on the time interval t = 1, 2, … , T. They are parameterized by a bandwidth parameter W, such that there are K = [2WT] basis functions with spectra that are confined to a frequency band [f − W, f + W] around the frequency of interest, f. These methods have recently been applied to the analysis of neurobiological time series (16).For a given data sequence x(t), the basic quantity involved in the spectral estimation is the tapered Fourier transform:
Another quantity that is presented in the paper is the cross-correlation between spectral amplitudes at different frequencies. These were obtained by computing the multitaper spectrogram SMT(f, t), and using a moving analysis window, and then computing the correlation coefficient of the two time series, log(SMT(f1, t)) and log(SMT(f2, t)), with their means removed. By performing this computation for a two-dimensional grid of points in f1, f2 space, a two-dimensional image of spectral correlations was generated. Removal of Cardiac and Distant Source Artifacts. Because the experiments were performed with a magnetometer rather than a gradiometer, the raw data displayed noise arising from magnetic fields and originating from the heart and other distant sources (Fig. (Fig.1).1
Results To determine whether a clear grouping could be obtained from the MEG measurements in control subjects and in patients, a set of recordings of spontaneous activity were obtained, and the 18 sets of results were analyzed, such that an unbiased plot could be drawn. The recordings obtained from a control and from a patient (Fig. (Fig.22
Average power spectra of the recordings obtained from all of the patients and all of the control subjects are shown in Fig. Fig.22 These findings were confirmed by plotting total power in the 5- to 15-Hz band against the power ratio between the 5- to 10-Hz band and between the 10- to 15-Hz band (Fig. (Fig.3).3
To test whether the increased power in the θ band comes with an increased coherence inside low frequencies, as well as between low and high frequencies, correlation plots were computed for individual patients and control subjects. In Fig. Fig.4,4
Moreover, the correlation shows harmonics at γ frequency, indicating an edge effect (11). If certain cortical structures in the brain are forced to generate γ frequencies in a continuous and stereotyped manner, the brain generates cognitive experiences and motor behavior, in the absence of context with the external world and without the intentionality that normally characterizes human function. We therefore propose that this edge effect, γ-band activity is responsible for the positive symptoms reported by these patients. Discussion Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia: Low-Frequency Rhythmicity and the Edge Effect. The results we describe in this paper indicate that a common mechanism is operant, and that, depending on its localization in the thalamocortical network, it may produce dysfunctions and symptoms ascribed to various common neurological or psychiatric conditions. From a functional point of view, the common link among these different medical conditions relates to electrophysiological properties of the thalamocortical loops involved (20). Thus, low-frequency, coherent electrical activity with wide hemispheric representation is common in all of the patients studied. This low-frequency, thalamocortical activity has two characteristics that distinguish it from the θ rhythmicity present under normal waking conditions. The first, and most important, is the presence of a persistent low-frequency, thalamocortical resonance during the awake state. The second characteristic is its wide coherence over the recorded channels. We must emphasize here that low frequencies are not themselves pathological; they occur as thalamocortical synchronization (21, 22) continuously during δ sleep (20, 23), and transiently during wakefulness, under specific conditions of mental and emotional activity (18, 19, 24–26). Rather, we are dealing here with an ongoing low-frequency activity that is present during the entire day and that continuously modifies and limits the dynamic organization of the brain; it does so all the more efficiently because it produces large-scale coherence. Thus, we postulate that an edge effect generates the high-frequency, γ-band activity that is the origin for the appearance of the clinical symptoms and signs (Fig. (Fig.5).5
In the proposed scenario, the neurological or psychiatric manifestations of the patients are conditioned by the localization of the primary lesion. Thus, in the case of Parkinsonism, in which low-frequency activity was reported (32–34), excess inhibition, produced by hyperactive pallidal input onto the motor thalamus, produces hyperpolarization of thalamic relay cells, with the consecutive de-inactivation of T-channels (35) and the appearance of low-threshold calcium spiking and low-frequency oscillation (36–38). This oscillation produces then the edge effect, which generates the clinical Parkinsonian manifestations (32). We know this to be the case, because the reduction of thalamic overinhibition, by surgical decrease of the pallidal output to the thalamus, diminishes or suppresses Parkinsonian manifestations (13). This therapeutic goal can be reached by a radio-frequency lesion and a chronic stimulation device that causes a continuous depolarization block (39, 40), or by pharmacological treatment to reduce excess inhibition (41, 42). In other words, reduction of the thalamic overinhibition suppresses the thalamocortical dysrhythmia that is responsible for the clinical symptomatology. This view is directly supported by single-unit recordings taken during stereotactic operations that show the presence of LTS bursting activity in the pallidal-recipient, motor-thalamic nuclei of Parkinsonian patients (43). A similar case may be made for the other patients in this study. Indeed, in the case of neurogenic pain, depression, and tinnitus, a persistent and coherent θ-thalamocortical oscillatory activity was also observed in this study. In these three clinical situations, but also in epilepsy, obsessive–compulsive disease, dystonia, and spasticity, medial thalamic LTS θ-rhythmic activity was shown, as well as the possibility of reducing the symptoms by a stereotactic intervention at the medial thalamic level (13). In the field of psychiatry (44), in addition to obsessive–compulsive disease and depression, one may also remember that low-frequency activity has been known to be recorded in schizophrenic patients (45), although a thalamocortical dysrhythmia was never considered as a mechanism. The Issue of Localization and Dynamics. As described above, the basic idea infers that the symptomatology presented by the patients ultimately relates to the overall localization of the low-frequency activity. We do not present a purely phrenological description; rather, what we observed is an abnormal distribution and coherence of low-frequency activity over wide areas of the brain, anterior as well as posterior, and the persistence of this phenomenon throughout the recording session. Thus, in the case of a depressed patient, stimuli that may produce short-lived sadness in normal individuals may have a dynamic time course that prolongs the normal emotional experience into long-lasting depressive periods. Such experience may occur even after exposure to stimuli that are not normally depressant. Similar conclusions may be reached concerning all of the other thalamocortical dysrhythmias described here, such as the exacerbation of neurogenic pain by nonpainful, tactile, or proprioceptive stimuli. An amplification of the symptomatology caused by fear and stress is also recognized by patients suffering from the various positive symptoms described in this paper. In view of the widespread distribution of the coherent thalamocortical θ-activity described here, we may also propose that the large associational–mesocortical system is more relevant than lateral unimodal cortical areas. The areas where we expect to see maximal low-frequency activity are the cingulate, medial prefrontal, and orbitofrontal cortices for neuropsychiatric symptoms; the supplementary motor and cingulate areas for Parkinson's disease; the insular, parietal opercular, and cingular cortices for neurogenic pain; and the medial temporal areas for tinnitus (13). In terms of thalamocortical dynamics, the medial thalamic nuclei might be seen as the best candidates in view of their better coherence abilities (46). We have, however, proposed that thalamic dynamics relates essentially to the temporal interactions between the “content, specific or lateral” and the “context, nonspecific or medial” thalamocortical systems (9, 20). In this sense, the relevance of the generation of the thalamocortical dysrhythmia must be ascribed to both systems. Origin of the Thalamocortical Dysrhythmia: “Bottom-Up Versus Top-Down” Mechanism. The basic assumption in this discussion is that the thalamocortical dysrhythmia is central and that the abnormal condition is brought about by changes in intrinsic, voltage-gated ionic conductances at the level of thalamic relay cells (36), namely, the deinactivation of T channels by cell membrane hyperpolarization (35). LTS bursts are produced and lock the related thalamocortical circuits in low-frequency resonance. Low-frequency loops interact at the cortical level with high-frequency ones, giving rise to the edge effect and the generation of a positive symptom. In tinnitus, peripheral neurogenic pain, Parkinson's disease, and some neuropsychiatric disorders with striatal origin, the dysrhythmic mechanism is triggered bottom-up, i.e., from the thalamus toward the cortex. In other situations, such as epilepsy, neuropsychiatric conditions of cortical origin, and central cortical neurogenic pain, the mechanism may be top-down, triggered by a reduction of the corticothalamic input. Both bottom-up and top-down situations result in excess inhibition or disfacilitation, generating thalamic cell membrane hyperpolarization and low-frequency oscillation. Relation to Other Imaging Technologies. A proper analysis of the thalamocortical dysrhythmia must ultimately be implemented with a technique that is fast enough to distinguish among the different thalamocortical frequencies (4–50 Hz), and it must have sufficient spatial resolution to localize accurately all sites involved. These criteria seem to be ideally fulfilled by MEG (29). However, considering the enormous diagnostic relevance of both PET and functional MRI, the best approach may be to combine these three noninvasive tools, such that their relative advantages may coordinate to optimize understanding and diagnosis of these abnormal conditions. When comparing our results with those obtained from PET recordings (47, 48), it seems evident that low-frequency activity in MEG correlates well with hypometabolism in PET, which is not altogether surprising, in view of the decreased electrical activity accompanying calcium-dependent potassium conductances (49). PET may demonstrate high-frequency, edge-effect activation areas as hypermetabolic, and low-frequency areas as hypometabolic—a proposition already supported by reports of both hyper- and hypometabolic areas in the thalamus and cortex of patients suffering from neurogenic pain (50). 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Science. 1988 Dec 23; 242(4886):1654-64.
[Science. 1988]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Nov; 87(22):8935-9.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992 Jun 15; 89(12):5670-4.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1992]Adv Neurol. 1999; 81():49-56.
[Adv Neurol. 1999]Neuroscience. 1991; 44(3):521-35.
[Neuroscience. 1991]Biophys J. 1999 Feb; 76(2):691-708.
[Biophys J. 1999]Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1996 Dec; 5(1-2):165-74.
[Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1996]Brain. 1996 Apr; 119 ( Pt 2)():363-75.
[Brain. 1996]Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1998 Nov 29; 353(1377):1841-9.
[Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. 1998]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Mar 1; 90(5):2078-81.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993]Science. 1996 Nov 1; 274(5288):771-4.
[Science. 1996]Neuroscience. 1997 Jan; 76(1):11-24.
[Neuroscience. 1997]J Neurosci. 1991 Oct; 11(10):3200-17.
[J Neurosci. 1991]Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1996 Dec; 5(1-2):165-74.
[Brain Res Cogn Brain Res. 1996]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990 Nov; 87(22):8935-9.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1990]Adv Neurol. 1999; 81():49-56.
[Adv Neurol. 1999]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981 Apr; 78(4):2643-7.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1981]J Neurophysiol. 1992 Nov; 68(5):1558-74.
[J Neurophysiol. 1992]Brain. 1996 Apr; 119 ( Pt 2)():355-61.
[Brain. 1996]Neurology. 1996 May; 46(5):1359-70.
[Neurology. 1996]Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1959 Nov; 11():723-31.
[Electroencephalogr Clin Neurophysiol. 1959]Trends Neurosci. 1988 Oct; 11(10):431-8.
[Trends Neurosci. 1988]J Physiol. 1984 Apr; 349():205-26.
[J Physiol. 1984]J Neurophysiol. 1991 Oct; 66(4):1176-89.
[J Neurophysiol. 1991]Brain. 1996 Apr; 119 ( Pt 2)():363-75.
[Brain. 1996]Science. 1988 Jan 8; 239(4836):162-9.
[Science. 1988]Psychopharmacol Bull. 1996; 32(4):741-50.
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[Brain. 1996]Neuroscience. 1991; 44(3):521-35.
[Neuroscience. 1991]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993 Mar 1; 90(5):2078-81.
[Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1993]J Physiol. 1984 Apr; 349():205-26.
[J Physiol. 1984]Trends Neurosci. 1988 Oct; 11(10):431-8.
[Trends Neurosci. 1988]Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 1991 Dec 15; 88(24):11037-41.
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