dc.contributor.author | Ibáñez, Jaime | |
dc.contributor.author | González de la Aleja, Jesús | |
dc.contributor.author | Gallego, Juan A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Romero Muñoz, Juan Pablo | |
dc.contributor.author | Saíz Díaz, Rosana A. | |
dc.contributor.author | Benito León, Julián | |
dc.contributor.author | Rocón, Eduardo | |
dc.date.accessioned | 2020-01-20T09:26:30Z | |
dc.date.available | 2020-01-20T09:26:30Z | |
dc.date.issued | 2014 | |
dc.identifier.issn | 1932-6203 | spa |
dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10641/1824 | |
dc.description.abstract | Background: Essential tremor (ET) is characterised by postural and action tremors with a frequency of 4–12 Hz. Previous
studies suggest that the tremor activity originates in the cerebello-thalamocortical pathways. Alprazolam is a short-acting
benzodiazepine that attenuates tremors in ET. The mechanisms that mediate the therapeutic action of alprazolam are
unknown; however, in healthy subjects, benzodiazepines increase cortical beta activity. In this study, we investigated the
effect of alprazolam both on beta and tremor-related cortical activity and on alterations in tremor presentation in ET
patients. Therefore, we characterised the dynamics of tremor and cortical activity in ET patients after alprazolam intake.
Methods: We recorded hand tremors and contralateral cortical activity in four recordings before and after a single dose of
alprazolam. We then computed the changes in tremors, cortico-muscular coherence, and cortical activity at the tremor
frequency and in the beta band.
Results: Alprazolam significantly attenuated tremors (EMG: 76.2622.68%), decreased cortical activity in the tremor
frequency range and increased cortical beta activity in all patients (P,0.05). At the same time, the cortico-muscular
coherence at the tremor frequency became non-significant (P,0.05). We also found a significant correlation (r = 0.757, P,
0.001) between the reduction in tremor severity and the increased ratio of cortical activity in the beta band to the activity
observed in the tremor frequency range.
Conclusions: This study provides the first quantitative analysis of tremor reduction following alprazolam intake. We
observed that the tremor severity decreased in association with an increased ratio of beta to tremor-related cortical activity.
We hypothesise that the increase in cortical beta activity may act as a blocking mechanism and may dampen the
pathological oscillatory activity, which in turn attenuates the observed tremor. | spa |
dc.language.iso | eng | spa |
dc.publisher | PLoS ONE | spa |
dc.rights | Atribución-NoComercial-SinDerivadas 3.0 España | * |
dc.rights.uri | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/es/ | * |
dc.title | Effects of Alprazolam on Cortical Activity and Tremors in Patients with Essential Tremor. | spa |
dc.type | journal article | spa |
dc.type.hasVersion | AM | spa |
dc.rights.accessRights | open access | spa |
dc.description.extent | 685 KB | spa |
dc.identifier.doi | 10.1371/journal.pone.0093159 | spa |
dc.relation.publisherversion | https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0093159 | spa |