title: Corticomuscular coherence in the 6-15 Hz band: is the cortex involved in the generation of physiologic tremor?
abstract: Physiologic tremor (PT) consists of a peripheral mechanical oscillation at the limbs' resonance frequency and an independent central component in the 6-15 Hz band. This central component has mainly been attributed to spinal interneuronal systems or subcortical oscillators but more recently also to cortical rhythms. We recorded PT electromyographically and accelerometrically from different parts of the arm in parallel to epicortical recordings from grid electrodes covering the primary sensorimotor areas of the contralateral cortex in six epileptic patients. Previous bipolar electrical stimulation of the cortical electrodes resulted in a somatotopic map of the primary cortex underlying the grid. Spectral and cross-spectral analysis including coherence spectra between epicortical electrodes and EMG and the corresponding phase spectra were performed off-line. We found significant corticomuscular coherence in the 6-15 Hz range in four out of the six patients. This coherence was focal on the cortex and it was distributed somatotopically mainly within the primary motor area. The frequency band of the coherence mostly corresponding to the EMG frequency remained stable with added inertia, while the main accelerometric frequency was clearly reduced following the resonance frequency. The phase spectra between electrocorticogram (ECoG) and EMG showed a clear delay between cortex and muscle in two of the patients, which was compatible with conduction in fast pyramidal pathways. These findings indicate that the 6-15 Hz coherence between cortex and EMG reflects a corticomuscular transmission of the oscillation rather than peripheral feedback to the cortex. We conclude that cortical networks are involved in the generation of physiologic tremor.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, University of Kiel, Niemannsweg 147, 24105 Kiel, Germany.
authors.forename: Jan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Raethjen
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lindemann
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dümpelmann
authors.forename: Roland
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Wenzelburger
authors.forename: Henning
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Stolze
authors.forename: Gerd
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pfister
authors.forename: Christian E
authors.initials: CE
authors.lastname: Elger
authors.forename: Jens
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Timmer
authors.forename: Günther
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Deuschl
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001683:Biological Clocks / Q000502:physiology*; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004576:Electromyography; D019054:Evoked Potentials, Motor / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D009119:Muscle Contraction / Q000502:physiology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000294:innervation* / Q000502:physiology*; D009431:Neural Conduction / Q000502:physiology*; D011712:Pyramidal Tracts / Q000502:physiology*; D009435:Synaptic Transmission / Q000502:physiology; D014202:Tremor / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016474:Weight-Bearing / Q000502:physiology