Task-related brain activity and functional connectivity in upper limb dystonia: a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

Dystonia is a dynamic and complex disorder. Real-time analysis of brain activity during motor tasks may increase our knowledge on its pathophysiology. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a noninvasive method that enables the measurement of cortical hemodynamic activity in unconstrained environments.

Brain connectivity in patients with dystonia during motor tasks.

Objective: This study aims to investigate alterations of brain connectivity using multivariate electroencephalographic data to provide new insights of the brain connectivity dynamics of dystonia.

Approach: We recorded electroencephalography (EEG) of patients with right upper limb idiopathic focal dystonia and paired controls during resting state, writing-from-memory, and finger-tapping tasks. We applied power spectrum analyses considering the mu, beta and gamma rhythms of the motor cortex and analyzed brain connectivity networks and microstates (MS).