Motor cortex activation mediates associations between striatal dopamine depletion and manual dexterity in Parkinson's...

Parkinson's disease (PD) presents with a progressive decline in manual dexterity, attributed to dysfunction in the basal ganglia-thalamus-cortex loop, influenced by dopaminergic deficits in the striatum. Recent research suggests that the motor cortex may play a pivotal role in mediating the relationship between striatal dopamine depletion and motor function in PD. Understanding this connection is crucial for comprehending the origins of manual dexterity impairments in PD. Therefore, our study aimed to explore how motor cortex activation mediates the association between striatal dopamine depletion and manual dexterity in PD.

We enrolled 26 mildly affected PD patients in their off-medication phase to undergo [¹⁸F]FDOPA _PET/CT scans for evaluating striatal dopaminergic function. EEG recordings were conducted during bimanual anti-phase finger tapping tasks to evaluate motor cortex activity, specifically focusing on Event-Related Desynchronization in the beta band. Manual dexterity was assessed using the Purdue Pegboard Test. Regression-based mediation analysis was conducted to examine whether motor cortex activation mediates the association between striatal dopamine depletion and manual dexterity in PD.

Mediation analysis revealed a significant direct effect of putamen dopamine depletion on manual dexterity for the affected hand and assembly tasks (performed with two hands), with motor cortex activity mediating this association. In contrast, while caudate nucleus dopamine depletion showed a significant direct effect on manual dexterity, motor cortex mediation on this association was not observed.

Our study confirms the association between striatum dopamine depletion and impaired manual dexterity in PD, with motor cortex activity mediating this relationship.