Beta wave

Beta waves were discovered and named by the German psychiatrist Hans Berger, who invented electroencephalography (EEG) in 1924, as a method of recording electrical brain activity from the human scalp. Berger termed the larger amplitude, slower frequency waves that appeared over the posterior scalp when the subject's eye were closed alpha waves. The smaller amplitude, faster frequency waves that replaced alpha waves when the subject opened their eyes were then termed beta waves.{{cite book|last1=Buzsáki|first1=György|title=Rhythms of the Brain|url=https://archive.org/details/rhythmsbrain00buzs|url-access=limited|date=2006|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=New York|page=[https://archive.org/details/rhythmsbrain00buzs/page/n17 4]|isbn=978-0-19-530106-9}}

Low-amplitude beta waves with multiple and varying frequencies are often associated with active, busy or anxious thinking and active concentration.{{cite journal |vauthors=Baumeister J, Barthel T, Geiss KR, Weiss M | title=Influence of phosphatidylserine on cognitive performance and cortical activity after induced stress | journal=Nutritional Neuroscience | volume=11 | issue=3 | year=2008 | pages=103–110 | pmid=18616866 | doi=10.1179/147683008X301478| s2cid=45936526 }}

Over the motor cortex, beta waves are associated with the muscle contractions that happen in isotonic movements and are suppressed prior to and during movement changes,{{cite journal | last1 = Baker | first1 = SN | title = Oscillatory interactions between sensorimotor cortex and the periphery | journal = Current Opinion in Neurobiology | volume = 17 | issue = 6 | pages = 649–55 | year = 2007 | pmid = 18339546 | pmc = 2428102 | doi = 10.1016/j.conb.2008.01.007 }} with similar observations across fine and gross motor skills.{{cite journal |last1=Easthope |first1=Eric |last2=Shamei |first2=Arian |last3=Liu |first3=Yadong |last4=Gick |first4=Bryan |last5=Fels |first5=Sidney |title=Cortical control of posture in fine motor skills: evidence from inter-utterance rest position |journal=Frontiers in Human Neuroscience |date=17 August 2023 |volume=17 |page=1139569 |doi=10.3389/fnhum.2023.1139569 |pmid=37662639 |pmc=10469778 |doi-access=free }} Bursts of beta activity are associated with a strengthening of sensory feedback in static motor control and reduced when there is movement change.{{cite journal | last1 = Lalo | first1 = E | last2 = Gilbertson | first2 = T | last3 = Doyle | first3 = L | last4 = Di Lazzaro | first4 = V | last5 = Cioni | first5 = B | last6 = Brown | first6 = P | title = Phasic increases in cortical beta activity are associated with alterations in sensory processing in the human | journal = Experimental Brain Research. Experimentelle Hirnforschung. Experimentation Cerebrale | volume = 177 | issue = 1 | pages = 137–45 | year = 2007 | pmid = 16972074 | doi = 10.1007/s00221-006-0655-8 | s2cid = 24685610 }} Beta activity is increased when movement has to be resisted or voluntarily suppressed.{{cite journal | last1 = Zhang | first1 = Y | last2 = Chen | first2 = Y | last3 = Bressler | first3 = SL | last4 = Ding | first4 = M | title = Response preparation and inhibition: the role of the cortical sensorimotor beta rhythm | journal = Neuroscience | volume = 156 | issue = 1 | pages = 238–46 | year = 2008 | pmid = 18674598 | pmc = 2684699 | doi = 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2008.06.061 }} The artificial induction of increased beta waves over the motor cortex by a form of electrical stimulation called Transcranial alternating-current stimulation consistent with its link to isotonic contraction produces a slowing of motor movements.{{cite journal | last1 = Pogosyan | first1 = A | last2 = Gaynor | first2 = LD | last3 = Eusebio | first3 = A | last4 = Brown | first4 = P | title = Boosting cortical activity at Beta-band frequencies slows movement in humans | journal = Current Biology | volume = 19 | issue = 19 | pages = 1637–41 | year = 2009 | pmid = 19800236 | pmc = 2791174 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2009.07.074 | bibcode = 2009CBio...19.1637P }}

Investigations of reward feedback have revealed two distinct beta components; a high beta (low gamma) component,Marco-Pallerés, J., Cucurell, D., Cunillera, T., García, R., Andrés-Pueyo, A., Münte, T. F., et al. (2008).Human oscillatory activity associated to reward processing in a gambling task, Neuropsychologia, 46, 241-248. {{doi|10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2007.07.016}} and low beta component.Yaple, Z., Martinez-Saito, M., Novikov, N., Altukhov, D., Shestakova, A., Klucharev, V. (2018). Power of feedback-induced beta oscillations reflect omission of rewards: Evidence from an EEG gambling study, Frontiers in Neuroscience, 12, 776. {{doi|10.3389/fnins.2018.00776|doi-access=free}} In association with unexpected gains, the high beta component is more profound when receiving an unexpected outcome, with a low probability.HajiHosseini, A., Rodriguez-Fornells, A., and Marco-Pallerés, J. (2012). The role of beta-gamma oscillations in unexpected rewards processing, Neuroimage, 60, 1678-1685. {{doi|10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.125}} However the low beta component is said to be related to the omission of gains, when gains are expected.

During rest, fast beta oscillations are prevalent over lateral prefrontal cortex (LPFC) in humans, following a posteroanterior increase in frequency. This increase beta frequency at more anterior subregions corresponds to an anatomical model of LPFC function wherein cognitive control is hierarchically organized, with more abstract and sophisticated control mechanisms subserved by the most anterior regions and more direct//concrete control of goal-directed action at posterior sites. This is further in agreement with the fact that posterior LPFC beta is slower in frequency, similar to that observed over resting motor cortex.Capilla, A., Arana, L., García-Huéscar, M., Melcón, M., Gross, J., & Campo, P. (2022). The natural frequencies of the resting human brain: An MEG-based atlas. NeuroImage, 258, 119373.

File:Dup15q EEG signature.png syndrome.]]

Beta waves are often considered indicative of inhibitory cortical transmission mediated by gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA), the principal inhibitory neurotransmitter of the mammalian nervous system. Benzodiazepines, drugs that modulate GABA_A receptors, induce beta waves in EEG recordings from humans {{cite journal|last1=Feshchenko|first1=V|last2=Veselis|first2=R|last3=Reinsel|first3=R|title=Comparison of the EEG effects of midazolam, thiopental, and propofol: the role of underlying oscillatory systems|journal=Neuropsychobiology|date=1997|pmid=9246224|volume=35|issue=4|pages=211–20|doi=10.1159/000119347}} and rats.{{cite journal|last1=Van Lier|first1=Hester|last2=Drinkenburg|first2=Wilhelmus|last3=Van Eeten|first3=Yvonne|last4=Coenen|first4=Anton|title=Effects of diazepam and zolpidem on EEG beta frequencies are behavior-specific in rats|journal=Neuropharmacology|volume=47|issue=2|pages=163–174|date=2004|doi=10.1016/j.neuropharm.2004.03.017|pmid=15223295|s2cid=20725910}} Spontaneous beta waves are also observed diffusely in scalp EEG recordings from children with duplication 15q11.2-q13.1 syndrome (Dup15q) who have duplications of GABA_A receptor subunit genes GABRA5, GABRB3, and GABRG3.{{cite journal|last1=Frohlich|first1=Joel|last2=Senturk|first2=Damla|author2-link=Damla Şentürk|last3=Saravanapandian|first3=Vidya|last4=Golshani|first4=Peyman|last5=Reiter|first5=Lawrence|last6=Sankar|first6=Raman|last7=Thibert|first7=Ronald|last8=DiStefano|first8=Charlotte|last9=Huberty|first9=Scott|last10=Cook|first10=Edwin|last11=Jeste|first11=Shafali|title=A Quantitative Electrophysiological Biomarker of Duplication 15q11.2-q13.1 Syndrome|journal=PLOS ONE|date=December 2016|pmc=5157977|pmid=27977700|doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0167179|volume=11|issue=12|page=e0167179|bibcode=2016PLoSO..1167179F|doi-access=free}} Similarly, children with Angelman syndrome with deletions of the same GABA_A receptor subunit genes feature diminished beta amplitude.{{Cite journal|last1=Hipp|first1=Joerg F.|last2=Khwaja|first2=Omar|last3=Krishnan|first3=Michelle|last4=Jeste|first4=Shafali S.|last5=Rotenberg|first5=Alexander|last6=Hernandez|first6=Maria-Clemencia|last7=Tan|first7=Wen-Hann|last8=Sidorov|first8=Michael S.|last9=Philpot|first9=Benjamin D.|date=2019-01-18|title=Electrophysiological Phenotype in Angelman Syndrome Differs Between Genotypes|url=https://www.biologicalpsychiatryjournal.com/article/S0006-3223(19)30034-4/abstract|journal=Biological Psychiatry|volume=85|language=en|issue=9|pages=752–759|doi=10.1016/j.biopsych.2019.01.008|issn=0006-3223|pmid=30826071|pmc=6482952}} Thus, beta waves are likely biomarkers of GABAergic dysfunction, especially in neurodevelopmental disorders caused by 15q deletions/duplications.

• Delta wave – (0.1 – 3 Hz)
• Theta wave – (4 – 7 Hz)
• Alpha wave – (7 – 12 Hz)
• Beta wave – (12 – 30 Hz)
• Gamma wave – (30 – 100 Hz)

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Category:Electroencephalography