Oscillatory activities in neurological disorders of elderly: biomarkers to target for neuromodulation

Giovanni, A. et al. (2017) Oscillatory activities in neurological disorders of elderly: biomarkers to target for neuromodulation. Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience, 9, 189. (doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2017.00189) (PMID:28659788) (PMCID:PMC5468377)

Abstract

Non-invasive brain stimulation (NIBS) has been under investigation as adjunct treatment of various neurological disorders with variable success. One challenge is the limited knowledge on what would be effective neuronal targets for an intervention, combined with limited knowledge on the neuronal mechanisms of NIBS. Motivated on the one hand by recent evidence that oscillatory activities in neural systems play a role in orchestrating brain functions and dysfunctions, in particular those of neurological disorders specific of elderly patients, and on the other hand that NIBS techniques may be used to interact with these brain oscillations in a controlled way, we here explore the potential of modulating brain oscillations as an effective strategy for clinical NIBS interventions. We first review the evidence for abnormal oscillatory profiles to be associated with a range of neurological disorders of elderly (e.g., Parkinson's disease (PD), Alzheimer's disease (AD), stroke, epilepsy), and for these signals of abnormal network activity to normalize with treatment, and/or to be predictive of disease progression or recovery. We then ask the question to what extent existing NIBS protocols have been tailored to interact with these oscillations and possibly associated dysfunctions. Our review shows that, despite evidence for both reliable neurophysiological markers of specific oscillatory dis-functionalities in neurological disorders and NIBS protocols potentially able to interact with them, there are few applications of NIBS aiming to explore clinical outcomes of this interaction. Our review article aims to point out oscillatory markers of neurological, which are also suitable targets for modification by NIBS, in order to facilitate in future studies the matching of technical application to clinical targets.

• Item Type: Articles
• Keywords: EEG, TMS/tDCS, neuromodulation, non-invasive brain stimulation, oscillations.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Thut, Professor Gregor
• Authors: Giovanni, A., Capone, F., di Biase, L., Ferreri, F., Florio, L., Guerra, A., Marano, M., Paolucci, M., Ranieri, F., Salomone, G., Tombini, M., Thut, G., and Di Lazzaro, V.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Psychology & Neuroscience
• Journal Name: Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience
• Publisher: Frontiers
• ISSN: 1663-4365
• ISSN (Online): 1663-4365
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2017 Giovanni, Capone, di Biase, Ferreri, Florio, Guerra, Marano, Paolucci, Ranieri, Salomone, Tombini, Thut and Di Lazzaro.
• First Published: First published in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience 9: 189
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons license