Status dystonicus is a distinct state characterized by pallidal beta-band activity

Arjun Balachandar, Lindsey M. Vogt, Karim Mithani, Sebastian C. Coleman, Mark Ebden, Andrea Leblanc-Miller, Sara Breitbart, Alfonso Fasano, Carolina Gorodetsky () and George M. Ibrahim ()
Additional contact information
Arjun Balachandar: University of Toronto
Lindsey M. Vogt: University of Toronto
Karim Mithani: University of Toronto
Sebastian C. Coleman: University of Toronto
Mark Ebden: University of Toronto
Andrea Leblanc-Miller: University of Toronto
Sara Breitbart: University of Toronto
Alfonso Fasano: University of Toronto
Carolina Gorodetsky: University of Toronto
George M. Ibrahim: University of Toronto

Nature Communications, 2025, vol. 16, issue 1, 1-15

Abstract: Abstract Status dystonicus (SD) is a poorly known neurological emergency requiring urgent interventions, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) targeting the globus pallidus interna (GPi). The sensing capabilities of DBS electrodes provide an opportunity to study the pathophysiology of SD. Here, we study local field potentials (LFPs) from GPi-DBS electrodes implanted in a cohort of 10 children longitudinally during SD, recovery and relapse (recording range 11-1155 days). During SD, we report an increase in the periodic component of the power spectrum within the beta-band along with increases in burst amplitude compared to recordings in non-SD states. Furthermore, relapsed SD is characterized by a return of excessive beta signatures. Beta-specific LFP power is also significantly associated with worse quality-of-life scores (PedsQL, R2 = 0.695). We identify circadian pallidal beta-band periodicity in one participant with chronic narrowband beta-power recordings over months, with significant increase in power during SD. These rare recordings in children with SD point to excessive pallidal beta-band activity as a biomarker of SD. Our findings further suggest that SD is a distinct state with important implications for understanding dystonia pathophysiology, tracking dystonia states from intracranial activity and potential adaptive DBS treatments.

Date: 2025
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-025-64416-9 Abstract (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:nat:natcom:v:16:y:2025:i:1:d:10.1038_s41467-025-64416-9

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
https://www.nature.com/ncomms/

DOI: 10.1038/s41467-025-64416-9

Access Statistics for this article

Nature Communications is currently edited by Nathalie Le Bot, Enda Bergin and Fiona Gillespie

More articles in Nature Communications from Nature
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Sonal Shukla () and Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing ().