Is the rhythm of physiological tremor involved in cortico-cortical interactions?
The function of low-frequency oscillations as correlates of physiological tremor in supplementary motor area (SMA) and M1 remains unclear. In epicortical recordings from M1 and SMA and surface electromyographic (EMG) recordings in an epileptic patient we found reproducibly significant coherence between all three recording sites in the 6- to 15-Hz band. The partial coherence between SMA and muscle, however, was not significant. There was a constant phase shift between SMA and M1 indicating synchronized activity. We conclude that the cortical correlates of physiological tremor may be involved in linking different cortical motor centers and might therefore play a role in cortical motor planning.
Raethjen
Jan
J
Department of Neurology, University of Kiel, Kiel, Germany.
Lindemann
Michael
M
Morsnowski
Andre
A
Dümpelmann
Matthias
M
Wenzelburger
Roland
R
Stolze
Henning
H
Fietzek
Urban
U
Pfister
Gerd
G
Elger
Christian E
CE
Timmer
Jens
J
Deuschl
Günther
G
D000328:Adult; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation / Q000295:instrumentation; D004576:Electromyography / Q000295:instrumentation; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D018482:Muscle, Skeletal / Q000503:physiopathology; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000503:physiopathology; D010507:Periodicity; D014202:Tremor / Q000503:physiopathology*