RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Conventional time-series parameters are unreliable descriptors of motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) in brain tumor patients. Frequency domain analysis is suggested to provide additional information about the status of the cortico-spinal motor system. Aim of the present study was to describe the time-frequency representation of MEPs and its relation to the motor performance. METHODS: This study enrolled 17 consecutive brain tumor patients with impaired dexterity. After brain mapping of the affected (AH) and non-affected (NAH) hemisphere, TMS was applied to the hotspots of the abductor pollicis brevis muscles (APB). Using a Morlet wavelet approach, event-related spectral perturbation (ERSP) and inter-trial coherence (ITC) of the MEPs were calculated and compared to the Grooved Pegboard Test (GPT). Additionally, inter- and intra-subject reliability was assessed by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC). RESULTS: MEPs were projecting to a frequency band between 30 and 400 Hz with a local maximum between 100 and 150 Hz. There was a significant ERSP and ITC reduction of the AH in comparison to the NAH. In contrast, no interhemispheric differences were depicted in the conventional time-series analysis. ERSP and ITC values correlated significantly with GPT results (r = 0.35 and r = 0.50). Time-frequency MEP description had good inter-and intra-subject reliability (ICC = 0.63). CONCLUSIONS: Brain tumors affect corticospinal transmission resulting in a reduction of temporal and spectral MEP synchronization correlating with the dexterity performance. SIGNIFICANCE: Time-frequency representation of MEPs provide additional information beyond conventional time-domain features.