Task-related brain activity in upper limb dystonia revealed by simultaneous fNIRS and EEG

•We used simultaneous EEG and fNIRS to examine task-specific changes during finger-tapping and handwriting tasks in dystonia.•Patients with dystonia show altered connectivity between the supplementary motor area and left sensorimotor cortex during writing.•Differences in cortical blood flow and EEG spectral power between controls and patients with dystonia are task dependent. The aim of this study was to explore differences in brain activity and connectivity using simultaneous electroencephalography and near-infrared spectroscopy in patients with focal dystonia during handwriting and finger-tapping tasks. Patients with idiopathic right upper limb focal dystonia and controls were assessed by simultaneous near-infrared spectroscopy and electroencephalography during the writing and finger-tapping tasks in terms of the mu-alpha, mu-beta, beta and low gamma power and effective connectivity, as well as relative changes in oxyhemoglobin (oxy-Hb) and deoxyhemoglobin using a channel-wise approach with a mixed-effect model. Patients exhibited higher oxy-Hb levels in the right and left motor cortex and supplementary motor area during writing, but lower oxy-Hb levels in the left sensorimotor and bilateral somatosensory area during finger-tapping compared to controls. During writing, patients showed increased low gamma power in the bilateral sensorimotor cortex and less mu-beta and beta attenuation compared to controls. Additionally, patients had reduced connectivity between the supplementary motor area and the left sensorimotor cortex during writing. No differences were observed in terms of effective connectivity in either task. Finally, patients failed to attenuate the mu-alpha, mu-beta, and beta rhythms during the finger-tapping task. Cortical blood flow and EEG spectral power differ between controls and dystonia patients, depending on the task. Writing increased blood flow and altered connectivity in dystonia patients, and it also decreased slow-band attenuation. Finger-tapping decreased blood flow and slow-band attenuation. Simultaneous fNIRS and EEG may show relevant information regarding brain dynamics in movement disorders patients in unconstrained environments.