Parkinsonism Differently Affects the Single Neuronal Activity in the Primary and Supplementary Motor Areas in...

The changes in neuronal firing activity in the primary motor cortex (M1) and supplementary motor area (SMA) were compared in monkeys rendered parkinsonian by treatment with 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine. The neuronal dynamic was characterized using mathematical tools defined in different frameworks (rate, oscillations or complex patterns). Then, and for each cortical area, multivariate and discriminate analyses were further performed on these features to identify those important to differentiate between the normal and the pathological neuronal activity. Our results show a different order in the importance of the features to discriminate the pathological state in each cortical area which suggests that the M1 and the SMA exhibit dissimilarities in their neuronal alterations induced by parkinsonism. Our findings highlight the need for multiple mathematical frameworks to best characterize the pathological neuronal activity related to parkinsonism. Future translational studies are warranted to investigate the causal relationships between cortical region-specificities, dominant pathological hallmarks and symptoms.