Human sensorimotor resting state beta events and aperiodic activity show good test–retest reliability

• Published in: Clinical neurophysiology 2024-07, Vol.163, p.244-254
• Main Authors: Pauls, K. Amande M., Nurmi, Pietari, Ala-Salomäki, Heidi, Renvall, Hanna, Kujala, Jan, Liljeström, Mia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Aperiodic (1/f) activity; Beta oscillatory activity; Beta Rhythm - physiology; Female; Humans; Magnetoencephalography; Magnetoencephalography - methods; Magnetoencephalography - standards; Male; Middle Aged; Reproducibility of Results; Rest - physiology; Resting state; Sensorimotor; Sensorimotor Cortex - physiology; Test–retest reliability; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1388-2457; 1872-8952; 1872-8952
• DOI: 10.1016/j.clinph.2024.03.021

[Display omitted] •Healthy human MEG resting state sensorimotor activity showed good to excellent test–retest stability across two separate sessions.•2–3 minute recordings were sufficient to obtain stable test–retest results and automation of analysis was successful in 86%•‘Resting sensorimotor phenotype’ is a stable feature of individuals’ resting brain activity with potential as a clinical biomarker. Diseases affecting sensorimotor function impair physical independence. Reliable functional clinical biomarkers allowing early diagnosis or targeting treatment and rehabilitation could reduce this burden. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) non-invasively measures brain rhythms such as the somatomotor ‘rolandic’ rhythm which shows intermittent high-amplitude beta (14–30 Hz) ‘events’ that predict behavior across tasks and species and are altered by sensorimotor neurological diseases. We assessed test–retest stability, a prerequisite for biomarkers, of spontaneous sensorimotor aperiodic (1/f) signal and beta events in 50 healthy human controls across two MEG sessions using the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). Beta events were determined using an amplitude-thresholding approach on a narrow-band filtered amplitude envelope obtained using Morlet wavelet decomposition. Resting sensorimotor characteristics showed good to excellent test–retest stability. Aperiodic component (ICC 0.77–0.88) and beta event amplitude (ICC 0.74–0.82) were very stable, whereas beta event duration was more variable (ICC 0.55–0.7). 2–3 minute recordings were sufficient to obtain stable results. Analysis automatization was successful in 86%. Sensorimotor beta phenotype is a stable feature of an individual’s resting brain activity even for short recordings easily measured in patients. Spontaneous sensorimotor beta phenotype has potential as a clinical biomarker of sensorimotor system integrity.