Transmission of delta band (0.5-4 Hz) oscillations from the globus pallidus to the substantia nigra pars reticulata in dopamine depletion.

Parkinson's disease (PD) and animal models of PD feature enhanced oscillations in several frequency bands in the basal ganglia (BG). Past research has emphasized the enhancement of 13-30 Hz beta oscillations. Recently, however, oscillations in the delta band (0.

Delta oscillations are a robust biomarker of dopamine depletion severity and motor dysfunction in awake mice.

Delta oscillations (0.5-4 Hz) are a robust feature of basal ganglia pathophysiology in patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) in relationship to tremor, but their relationship to other parkinsonian symptoms has not been investigated. While delta oscillations have been observed in mouse models of PD, they have only been investigated in anesthetized animals, suggesting that the oscillations may be an anesthesia artifact and limiting the ability to relate them to motor symptoms.

State transitions in the substantia nigra reticulata predict the onset of motor deficits in models of progressive dopamine depletion in mice.

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder whose cardinal motor symptoms are attributed to dysfunction of basal ganglia circuits under conditions of low dopamine. Despite well-established physiological criteria to define basal ganglia dysfunction, correlations between individual parameters and motor symptoms are often weak, challenging their predictive validity and causal contributions to behavior. One limitation is that basal ganglia pathophysiology is studied only at end-stages of depletion, leaving an impoverished understanding of when deficits emerge and how they evolve over the course of depletion.

Histamine and deep brain stimulation: the pharmacology of regularizing a brain.

Parkinson's disease (PD) patients have increased histamine in their basal ganglia, but the role of this neurotransmitter in PD is poorly understood. In this issue of the JCI, Zhuang et al. demonstrate that histamine levels rise in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) to compensate for abnormal firing patterns.