Bereitschaftspotential preceding eyelid blinks in Parkinson’s disease

ABSTRACT The Bereitschaftspotential (BP) is a negative wave observed in EEG retrograde averaging, preceding a motor act. The objective was to study the BP preceding voluntary eyelid blinks in Parkinson’s disease (PD) patients during off and on phases of levodopa. Methods Ten PD patients in stages 1 and 2 of the Hoehn & Yahr classification were compared to 18 healthy controls. Artifact-free EEG segments of two seconds preceding the onset of the blink potential were averaged and analyzed, and the statistical significance of the measured amplitudes were evaluated by analysis of variance models. Results The presence of a BP in the PD patients was demonstrated. The mean amplitudes at 0 ms were respectively 0.6 μV and 3.3 μV for the BP patients and the normal controls, respectively. Conclusions The BP amplitudes were significantly smaller in PD patients than normal participants. The amplitudes of the BP were not modified by levodopa.