Reduced entropy of subthalamic beta bursts predicts freezing of gait in Parkinson’s disease
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Background
Freezing of gait (FOG) in Parkinson’s disease is associated with abnormal beta activity in the subthalamic nucleus (STN), but the temporal structure of burst dynamics remains poorly understood.
Objectives
To determine whether temporal features of STN beta bursts distinguish pre-freeze from stable gait and predict freezing onset.
Methods
STN recordings during gait from four individuals were analyzed. Temporal features of burst timing, including entropy and variability, were computed across behavioral states. Predictive performance was assessed using leave-one-patient-out classifiers.
Results
Entropy of inter-burst intervals was reduced prior to freezing (p < 0.01), with strong predictive performance (AUC = 0.825; threshold AUC = 0.858). During freezing, variability measures decreased and temporal structure increased, while entropy did not differ from pre-freeze. Phase-amplitude coupling showed frequency-specific but heterogeneous effects across comparisons.
Conclusions
Reduced temporal variability of STN beta burst timing precedes and predicts freezing, suggesting a transition to constrained neural dynamics.
