LEVODOPA COULD AFFECT CORTICAL EXCITABILITY IN PARKINSON¿S DISEASE: AN rsEEG STUDY
Parkinson¿s disease (PD) is a neurodegenerative disorder characterized by motor symptoms and progressive decline to dementia mainly due to dopamine neuronal loss. Our recent study showed that the amplitude of delta (about 2-4 Hz) and alpha (about 8-12 Hz) cortical sources of resting state (eyes-closed) electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms might reflect different abnormalities of the core neurophysiological mechanisms underpinning brain arousal in quiet wakefulness and low vigilance in PD patients (with mild cognitive impairment and dementia) also compared to others neurodegenerative diseases (i.e. Alzheimer¿s and Lewy Body disease) (Babiloni et al., 2017 PMID: 29407464). The purpose is to test the hypothesis that the dopamine neuromodulation could affect cortical excitability in Parkinson¿s disease (PD) patients set in quiet wakefulness, as revealed by resting state electroencephalographic (rsEEG) rhythms at alpha frequencies (8-12 Hz). To this aim, rsEEG data of PD patients will be extracted from our international archive and cortical rsEEG sources will be estimated by the exact low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (eLORETA) freeware. This outcome could represent an innovative use of electrophysiological markers to capture the mechanism of brain activity neuromodulation in PD patients.