Event-related desynchronization/synchronization during discrimination task conditions in patients with Parkinson's disease.

Parkinson's disease is a neurodegenerative disorder with symptoms, which include movement disturbances and changes of cognitive information processing. The aim of the present study was to investigate the functional relationships between oscillatory electroencephalographic (EEG) dominant components with event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) method for idiopathic non-demented Parkinson's patients (PP) and control subjects (CS) during auditory discrimination tasks within two post-stimulus intervals of 0-250 and 250-600 ms. When comparing the CS and PP during the first post-stimulus period, we found delta- and theta-ERS significantly pronounced in CS for both tone types (low--800, high--1,000 Hz) with the following exceptions: at Fz, PP displayed higher delta-ERS, while at C3' theta-ERD in response to a high tone. Alpha-ERS was found in PP in response to either tone at all electrodes and mainly alpha-ERD in CS. In the second post-stimulus interval, the significant differences between the groups were: (i) delta-ERS in CS and delta-ERD in PP in response to the low tone and (ii) delta-ERS for both groups in answer to the high tone, more prominent in CS at Cz and Pz, except for delta-ERD in PP at C3'. For both groups, we detected predominantly theta-ERD and alpha-ERD following both tone types within this second interval. PP showed more expressed theta-ERD at Fz and parietal theta-ERS. Alpha-ERD was significantly higher in CS, while frontal alpha-ERD was more prominent in the PP in response to both tones. The data obtained showed specific functional differences of event-related oscillatory activity in cognitive and sensory-motor information processing between the PP and CS.