Bradykinesia in Parkinson’s disease is typically associated with high-amplitude beta band (13–30 Hz) oscillations within the cortico-basal ganglia circuit (Gatev et al., 2006, Hammond et al., 2007, Oswal et al., 2013a). The subthalamic nucleus (STN) in particular forms one of the primary targets for deep brain stimulation (DBS) treatment of the disease. High-frequency stimulation around 130 Hz has proven highly effective in reducing symptoms of bradykinesia, rigidity and tremor, and in enhancing the quality of daily life (Krack et al., 2003, Rodriguez-Oroz et al., 2005, Deuschl et al., 2006, Weaver et al., 2009). Clinical improvement obtained with either DBS or the administration of dopaminergic medication seems closely related to its ability to reduce excessive beta band oscillations observed in the STN (Kühn et al., 2006, Kühn et al., 2008, Kühn et al., 2009, Weinberger et al., 2006, Ray et al., 2008, Eusebio et al., 2011). It remains, however, unclear how increased levels of beta band synchronisation mechanistically lead to motor impairments.
