Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) surgery affords a unique opportunity to record local field potentials (LFP) from sub-cortical structures in awake humans. Combining such recordings with MEG makes it possible to characterise the oscillatory connectivity of DBS targets with the rest of the brain and look at modulation of oscillatory activity and connectivity by tasks and treatment.

Our analysis of combined LFP-MEG recordings in Parkinson’s Disease (PD) patients with electrodes in the subthalamic nucleus (STN) revealed two distinct resting oscillatory networks: a temporoparietal-brainstem network coherent with the STN in the alpha (7 – 13 Hz) band and a predominantly frontal network coherent in the beta (15 – 35 Hz) band.

Our more recent results suggest that these networks are not an exclusive feature of STN and PD but are also present in other subcortical structures and other disorders. I will also present our latest highly challenging project where we performed clinically effective DBS inside the MEG scanner and recorded LFP from the stimulation site at the same time.