Multiple Equivalent Current Dipole Source Localization of Visual Event-Related Potentials During Oddball Paradigm With Motor Response

Event-related potentials (ERPs) during a visual oddball paradigm with button-pressing responses were recorded in 12 right-handed subjects from 32 scalp electrodes. The single equivalent current dipole (ECD) of the target C1 (weak occipito-parietal negativity from 30-80ms) was consistently located at the primary visual cortex. From the 4-ECD localization of the target P1/N1 (temporally coincident frontal positivity and occipito-temporal negativity), it was suggested that this complex reflected activities from distributed sources along both dorsal occipito-parietal and ventral occipito-temporal areas. The stable multiple ECD solutions for the target P3b were chosen as those including the left primary motor and/or sensorimotor dipole and satisfying goodness-of-fit (GOF) of more than 98% and confidence limit (CL) of less than 1mm. The obtained frontal dipoles were discussed in terms of visual working memory and sustained attention in reference to the previous PET, fMRI and MEG studies. The distributed multiple ECDs may suggest that P3 should be interpreted as being the embodiment of the cortico-limbic-thalamic network which involves Halgren and Marinkovic's emotional and behavioral model and Mesulam's attentional circuit.     

Source Localization of Early Stages of Face Processing

Summary: Recent studies using ERPs in face recognition revealed that face processing starts around 100 ms after stimulus onset, 70 ms earlier than suggested before. While the neural sources of the N170 component have repeatedly been found to be localized in the gyrus fusiformis and the inferior occipital cortex, sources have not yet been investigated for the P100 component during face processing. Therefore, we measured the ERPs elicited by faces and control stimuli in 72 subjects in order to localize the neural sources of both the P100 and the N170 component. We observed significantly higher P100 and N170 amplitudes to faces compared to control stimuli. LORETA source localization revealed significantly higher brain activity in the left and right gyrus fusiformis for the N170 component, with additional regions of increased brain activation in a parieto-temporal-occipital network. For the P100, faces activated the left and right gyrus fusiformis significantly stronger than control stimuli. This study reveals that the first step of face processing (about 100 ms after stimulus presentation) is localized in the gyrus fusiformis. The second step of face processing around 170 ms involves the gyrus fusiformis, with additional activation in a more distributed network, including the occipital cortex.     

Interhemisphere Asymmetry of Auditory Evoked Potentials in Humans and Mismatch Negativity during Sound Source Localization

Results of studies in humans of long-latency auditory evoked potentials and mismatch negativity in conditions of dichotic stimulation during presentation of deviant stimuli producing instantaneous changes in stimulus azimuth from the null to +22.5° or movement at rates of 11.25–112.5°/sec from the midline of the head across the left and right hemispheres towards each ear are presented. These studies showed that the total amplitude of the components of the N1–P2 complex of auditory evoked potentials in the frontal lead of the right hemisphere was greater than that in the left hemisphere. Mismatch negativity parameters showed significant relationships with the spatial position of the sound source, namely, its displacement into the right hemisphere from the position of the sound image of the standard signal. Questions of the involvement of the right hemisphere in discriminating the spatial characteristics of sound sources are discussed.     

Clinical Validation of the Champagne Algorithm for Evoked Response Source Localization in Magnetoencephalography

Brain Topography - Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a robust method for non-invasive functional brain mapping of sensory cortices due to its exceptional spatial and temporal resolution. The clinical...     

视觉靶刺激和干扰子刺激响应过程中的脑电流源模型分析

采用3-刺激视觉oddball实验范式,研究大脑离散电流源在干扰子刺激和靶刺激响应过程中的电流时间过程。本文采集了健康受试者的64导联头皮脑电(EEG)数据,通过3-刺激范式,既检测到人脑在识别小概率事件(靶刺激和干扰子刺激)过程中产生的P300电位的P3b成分;又测得P300电位的P3a成分,P3a主要在干扰子刺激响应过程中产生。本文用相同实验范式下的磁共振激活簇空间坐标作为约束条件,建立了干扰子刺激和靶刺激事件相关电位(ERPs)的区域源模型,区域源模型的电流计算分析表明P3b的主要神经源包括双侧下顶叶、双侧后顶叶皮层和双侧颞下皮层,而P3a的主要神经源包括双侧脑岛、双侧中央前沟和扣带回等额叶皮层。研究结果表明对靶刺激的脑处理涉及顶叶、颞下皮层和左侧脑岛等参与的刺激驱动注意过程、目标引导注意过程、视觉形状分类与记忆提取等,而对干扰子刺激的脑处理则主要涉及右侧脑岛、扣带回等完成的注意转移、注意资源的重新分配过程。     

Source Generators of Mismatch Negativity to Multiple Deviant Stimulus Types

The purpose of the present study was to investigate auditory stimulus feature processing and how neural generators might differ among the mismatch negativity (MMN) responses to intensity, frequency, and duration deviant stimuli. Data collected from 72 electrodes in twelve adult female subjects were analyzed. For each subject, peak amplitude and latency values at Fz were compared among responses to the three deviant stimulus types presented in individual conditions with a probability of 0.10 and 0.30, and in the multiple deviant condition in which all three deviant types were presented (design based on Deacon et al. 1998). Further, equivalent current dipoles (ECD) for each deviant type, in each condition, and for each subject were calculated in three areas: right hemisphere, left hemisphere, and frontal. Peak amplitude and latency measured at Fz were consistent with previous findings by Deacon et al. (1998) and suggested parallel processing, perhaps by separate neural generators. However, ECD locations were not significantly different among the responses to the different deviant types. Further, the ECD magnitudes did not consistently reflect the differences in amplitude observed at the scalp among responses to the deviant types and conditions. The latter finding may indicate that the procedures were not sensitive enough to identify true differences among the generators. Alternatively, it was suggested that searching for separate neural generators at the cortical level may be too restrictive because the process may begin in subcortical areas, as indicated in animal models.     

Cortical Source Localization of Infant Cognition

Neuroimaging techniques such as positron emission topography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have been utilized with older children and adults to identify cortical sources of perceptual and cognitive processes. However, due to practical and ethical concerns, these techniques cannot be routinely applied to infant participants. An alternative to such neuroimaging techniques appropriate for use with infant participants is high-density electroencephalogram (EEG) recording and cortical source localization techniques. The current article provides an overview of a method developed for such analyses. The method consists of four steps: (1) recording high-density (e.g., 128-channel) EEG. (2) Analysis of individual participant raw segmented data with independent component analysis (ICA). (3) Estimation of equivalent current dipoles (ECDs) that represent cortical sources for the observed ICA component clusters. (4) Calculation of component activations in relation to experimental factors. We discuss an example of research applying this technique to investigate the development of visual attention and recognition memory. We also describe the application of “realistic head modeling” to address some of the current limitations of infant cortical source localization.     

磁刺激内关穴的脑电源定位分析

与传统的针灸和电针刺激相比,磁刺激具有无创、无痛、不接触、易于操作等良好的安全性能.对磁刺激内关穴的脑电信号提取诱发电位并进行等效偶极子源定位分析研究.利用磁刺激仪对内关穴(PC6)及内关穴附近非穴位点(假穴)进行了相同强度、相同频率的磁刺激,分析了同步采集的脑电信号的诱发电位并对其进行了等效偶极子源定位研究.结果表明...     

A Visual Analog of Mismatch Negativity When Stimuli Differ in Duration

Event-linked brain potentials were studied in ten essentially healthy volunteers (six men, four women) aged 18–24 years. Subjects were presented with rare deviant and frequent standard visual stimuli in the standard odd-ball paradigm in conditions of active attention to stimulation and in conditions of distracted attention. Differences between deviant stimuli (50, 100, and 150 msec) and standard (200 msec) stimuli ranged from 50 to 150 msec. Negative difference waves (deviant stimulus with distracted attention minus control stimulus of the same duration) were seen at differences of 100 and 150 msec and these were most marked in the right temporal cortex 200–400 msec from stimulus onset. As this wave was seen in conditions of distracted attention, it appears to be a visual analog of mismatch negativity and reflects the process of the automatic detection of stimuli with deviant durations.     

Dipole Localization and Test-Retest Reliability of Frequency and Duration Mismatch Negativity Generator Processes

The mismatch negativity (MMN) is an event related potential component elicited by changes in duration, frequency or intensity of the stimuli during repetitive series of equal standard stimuli. In the present study we compared duration and frequency MMN using dipole source analysis concerning both the test-retest reliability of MMN-amplitudes and the locations of the potential sources. Furthermore, the influence of attention for test-retest-reliability was studied. Therefore, two groups of healthy subjects were investigated with different attentional manipulations. Twenty-one healthy subjects had to perform a visual attention task during the recording and 21 healthy subjects had no additional task to perform. All subjects were studied twice with a time interval of 3 weeks. Test-retest reliability was sufficiently high for the frequency but slightly lower for the duration MMN. The locations of the frequency and duration MMN-dipoles were in the auditory cortex with a more anterior and caudal location for the frequency MMN-dipoles. The latter finding supports the hypothesis that the frequency and duration MMNs have separate neuronal generators.     

时空模型结合模拟退火进行脑磁源的定位

脑磁源的定位问题是脑磁图（magnetoencephalography,MEG)研究的一个基本问题,其中多偶极子定位是脑磁逆问题研究当中的难点。本文通过研究脑磁图的时空模型STSM（spatio-temoral source modeling),提出将时空模型与模拟退火相结合进行多偶极子的定位,以克服其他优化方法易落入局部极小的不足,时空模型中偶极子参数经分解可分为线性部分和非线形部分,只对非线性部分进行模拟退火优化大大降低了优化空间的维数。通过与MUSIC（MUltiple SIgnal Classification)方法的比较,发现将时空模型与模拟退火相结合可以相对降低对源信号独立性的要求。     

Source Connectivity Analysis from MEG and its Application to Epilepsy Source Localization

We report an approach to perform source connectivity analysis from MEG, and initially evaluate this approach to interictal MEG to localize epileptogenic foci and analyze interictal discharge propagations in patients with medically intractable epilepsy. Cortical activities were reconstructed from MEG using individual realistic geometry boundary element method head models. Directional connectivity among cortical regions of interest was then estimated using directed transfer function. The MEG source connectivity analysis method was implemented in the eConnectome software, which is open-source and freely available at . As an initial evaluation, the method was applied to study MEG interictal spikes from five epilepsy patients. Estimated primary epileptiform sources were consistent with surgically resected regions, suggesting the feasibility of using cortical source connectivity analysis from interictal MEG for potential localization of epileptiform activities.     

Magnetic Source Imaging Studies of Dyslexia Interventions

Rapidly accumulating evidence from functional brain imaging studies indicates that developmental reading disability is associated with a functional disruption of the brain circuits that normally develop to support reading-related processes. This article briefly overviews recent advances in methods that capture the anatomical outline and temporal (dynamic) features of regional brain activation during performance of reading tasks. One of these methods, magnetoencephalography (MEG) or magnetic sources imaging (MSI) is described in more detail in the context of investigations of changes in spatiotemporal patterns of brain activity associated with improvement in reading skills in response to various types of educational interventions.     

The Artifact-Free MEG-MUSIC Algorithm on Magnetoencephalographic Source Localization

INTRODUCTION　　 Multichannel superconducting quantum interference device ( SQUID) magne-tometers can beused to measure the spatio-temporal magnetoencephalogram ( MEG)produced by the neural activity in the human brain.From analysis of the MEG,onecan obtai…     

Feature Binding in the Visual Modality Depends on Attention: Analysis of Mismatch Negativity

Neuroscience and Behavioral Physiology - This study address the question of whether attention is required for binding of features in the visual modality. Subjects performed a task based on...     

Localization Accuracy of Distributed Inverse Solutions for Electric and Magnetic Source Imaging of Interictal Epileptic Discharges in Patients with Focal Epilepsy

Distributed inverse solutions aim to realistically reconstruct the origin of interictal epileptic discharges (IEDs) from noninvasively recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. Our aim was to compare the performance of different distributed inverse solutions in localizing IEDs: coherent maximum entropy on the mean (cMEM), hierarchical Bayesian implementations of independent identically distributed sources (IID, minimum norm prior) and spatially coherent sources (COH, spatial smoothness prior). Source maxima (i.e., the vertex with the maximum source amplitude) of IEDs in 14 EEG and 19 MEG studies from 15 patients with focal epilepsy were analyzed. We visually compared their concordance with intracranial EEG (iEEG) based on 17 cortical regions of interest and their spatial dispersion around source maxima. Magnetic source imaging (MSI) maxima from cMEM were most often confirmed by iEEG (cMEM: 14/19, COH: 9/19, IID: 8/19 studies). COH electric source imaging (ESI) maxima co-localized best with iEEG (cMEM: 8/14, COH: 11/14, IID: 10/14 studies). In addition, cMEM was less spatially spread than COH and IID for ESI and MSI (p < 0.001 Bonferroni-corrected post hoc t test). Highest positive predictive values for cortical regions with IEDs in iEEG could be obtained with cMEM for MSI and with COH for ESI. Additional realistic EEG/MEG simulations confirmed our findings. Accurate spatially extended sources, as found in cMEM (ESI and MSI) and COH (ESI) are desirable for source imaging of IEDs because this might influence surgical decision. Our simulations suggest that COH and IID overestimate the spatial extent of the generators compared to cMEM.     

Effects of Forward Model Errors on EEG Source Localization

Subject-specific four-layer boundary element method (BEM) electrical forward head models for four participants, generated from magnetic resonance (MR) head images using NFT (www.sccn.ucsd.edu/wiki/NFT), were used to simulate electroencephalographic (EEG) scalp potentials at 256 recorded electrode positions produced by single current dipoles of a 3-D grid in brain space. Locations of these dipoles were then estimated using gradient descent within five template head models fit to the electrode positions. These were: a spherical model, three-layer and four-layer BEM head models based on the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) template head image, and these BEM models warped to the recorded electrode positions. Smallest localization errors (4.1–6.2 mm, medians) were obtained using the electrode-position warped four-layer BEM models, with largest localization errors (~20 mm) for most basal brain locations. When we increased the brain-to-skull conductivity ratio assumed in the template model scalp projections from the simulated value (25:1) to a higher value (80:1) used in earlier studies, the estimated dipole locations moved outwards (12.4 mm, median). We also investigated the effects of errors in co-registering the electrode positions, of reducing electrode counts, and of adding a fifth, isotropic white matter layer to one individual head model. Results show that when individual subject MR head images are not available to construct subject-specific head models, accurate EEG source localization should employ a four- or five-layer BEM template head model incorporating an accurate skull conductivity estimate and warped to 64 or more accurately 3-D measured and co-registered electrode positions.     

Influence of Skull Modeling Approaches on EEG Source Localization

Electroencephalographic source localization (ESL) relies on an accurate model representing the human head for the computation of the forward solution. In this head model, the skull is of utmost importance due to its complex geometry and low conductivity compared to the other tissues inside the head. We investigated the influence of using different skull modeling approaches on ESL. These approaches, consisting in skull conductivity and geometry modeling simplifications, make use of X-ray computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance (MR) images to generate seven different head models. A head model with an accurately segmented skull from CT images, including spongy and compact bone compartments as well as some air-filled cavities, was used as the reference model. EEG simulations were performed for a configuration of 32 and 128 electrodes, and for both noiseless and noisy data. The results show that skull geometry simplifications have a larger effect on ESL than those of the conductivity modeling. This suggests that accurate skull modeling is important in order to achieve reliable results for ESL that are useful in a clinical environment. We recommend the following guidelines to be taken into account for skull modeling in the generation of subject-specific head models: (i) If CT images are available, i.e., if the geometry of the skull and its different tissue types can be accurately segmented, the conductivity should be modeled as isotropic heterogeneous. The spongy bone might be segmented as an erosion of the compact bone; (ii) when only MR images are available, the skull base should be represented as accurately as possible and the conductivity can be modeled as isotropic heterogeneous, segmenting the spongy bone directly from the MR image; (iii) a large number of EEG electrodes should be used to obtain high spatial sampling, which reduces the localization errors at realistic noise levels.