Comparison of minimum current estimate and dipole modeling in the analysis of simulated activity in the human visual cortices

Magnetoencephalographic(MEG) data are typically interpreted using source models because of the nonunique inverse problem. Although single current dipoles, adequately representing local active areas, can be identified accurately, multiple and overlapping sources form a challenge for MEG modeling. We tested the performances of multidipole modeling and minimum current estimate (MCE) in the analysis of complicated source configurations. Simulated current sources were placed to physiologically meaningful areas of the human visual cortices. Ten volunteers from the laboratory staff analyzed four different simulations with both dipole modeling and MCE without prior information of the sources. In general, the same sources were found using both modeling methods. The subjects tended to report more false sources with MCE than with dipole model, in part due to their inexperience with the method. Dipole model was more accurate than MCE both in time and space for nonsimultaneous sources but both methods performed similarly when sources overlapped in time. For all source configurations, considerably smaller source amplitudes were reported with MCE than with dipole model.