Characterization of cerebral activity in PD’s patients through an autoregressive model

Abstract

In this project we will have the opportunity to access to the local field potentials (LFP) recorded from the stimulation macroelectrodes of the DBS systems implanted in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) of 14 patients with PD. Although some of the characteristics of this oscillatory activity have already been described, many other remain to be evaluated. In light of the studies showed in the introduction and references therein, we note that in PD studies STN activity is almost exclusively studied by means of univariated or bivariated methods. This fact precludes the possibility of carrying analyses as those proposed in, where authors are able to fit an autoregressive model (AR) and thereafter to proceed with a study of the stability of the system, thus providing a deeper description of the state of the parkinsonian brain. With the aim of obtaining a similar framework for the STN signals, the general objective of this project is devoted to define AR models for the oscillatory activity from PD patients during both states, before and after the effect of the dopaminergic therapy.