The following study included 5 Wilson's disease (WD) patients showing a right-sided postural forearm tremor (4-6 Hz) and addressed the question of whether the primary motor cortex (M1) is involved in tremor generation. Using a 122-channel whole-head neuromagnetometer and surface electromyogram (EMG), we investigated cerebromuscular coupling. Postural tremor was observed in a sustained 45-degree posture of the right-sided forearm. Data were analyzed using dynamic imaging of coherent sources (DICS), revealing cerebromuscular coupling between EMG and cerebral activity. Coherent sources were superimposed on individual high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance images (MRI). Phase lags between EMG and cerebral areas showing strongest coherence were determined by means of a Hilbert transform of both signals. In all patients, postural tremor was associated with strong coherence between tremor EMG and activity in contralateral primary sensorimotor cortex (S1/M1) at tremor or double tremor frequency. Phase lag values between S1/M1 activity and EMG revealed efferent and afferent components in the corticomuscular coupling. Taken together, our results indicate that postural tremor in WD is mediated through a pathological oscillatory drive from the primary motor cortex.
2004 Movement Disorder Society.