The use of portable Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in movement disorders
Research type
Research Study
Full title
The use of portable Magnetoencephalography (MEG) in movement disorders
IRAS ID
254212
Contact name
Hayriye Cagnan
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
University of Oxford / Clinical Trials and Research Governance
ISRCTN Number
ISRCTN56202806
Duration of Study in the UK
5 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
This project aims to extend the current understanding of the relationship between oscillatory neural activity in the peripheral and central nervous systems and the expression of motor deficits in movement disorders. We will make recordings from patients making naturalistic movements to acquire signals generated by the muscles and brain. Specifically we will employ a novel, noninvasive neuroimaging system. This portable system uses sensors operating at room temperature ("optically pumped magnetometers"- OPM) that can be worn on the subject’s head using a closely fitting "head cast" moulded to the subjects MRI. Conventional recording systems(such as cryogenic magnetoencephalography or electroencephalography EEG) are highly susceptible to movement artefact which prevents recording of brain activity during movement and makes study of movement disorders difficult.
The use of portable OPM technology will allow us to record from patients that are moving in ways that correspond to their everyday activity. By obtaining high quality neural recordings of structures thought to be associated with movement disorders we can a) infer patterns of activity induced by a motor task designed to mimic daily motor activities; and b) ask how voluntary movement may interact with symptoms of movement disorders such as the expression of tremor.
We aim to recruit four groups of patients: essential tremor; tremor-dominant and non-tremor dominant Parkinson's disease; and Dystonic tremor. We will ask patients to perform a motor task capable of modulating motor deficits(e.g. intentional tremor, rest tremor, slowness of movement, and rigidity). Using these recordings we hope to determine how the activity associated with voluntary movement acts to interact with the networks responsbile for motor impairment. In the case of tremor dominant disorders, some patients will recieve botulinum injections as part of their routine clinical care. In this subset of patients we will ask them to perform the experiment twice: before and after this intervention.
REC name
Wales REC 5
REC reference
20/WA/0124
Date of REC Opinion
26 Jun 2020
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion