Though excellent spatial resolution (on the order of 1 mm) is obtainable in functional MRI (fMRI), its temporal resolution is limited to about 1 second by hemodynamics. On the other hand, magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG) provide millisecond temporal resolution but a relatively crude (on the order of 1 cm) spatial resolution to localized sources. Thus, techniques that could combine the high temporal resolution of MEG or EEG with the high spatial resolution of fMRI would be of great significance in imaging the spatiotemporal distribution of neuronal activation. With the ultimate objective of combining fMRI and EEG activation studies, we have conducted experiments to determine how pixels activated in fMRI correlate with underlying EEG sources in a given subject during visual stimulation. Results of a three-subject study suggest good correlation between the center-of-gravity of activated pixels seen in fMRI and the center-of-gravity of regions localized through EEG measurements.

Date Published: 8 April 1996
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 2709, Medical Imaging 1996: Physiology and Function from Multidimensional Images, (8 April 1996); doi: 10.1117/12.237871

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 2709:
Medical Imaging 1996: Physiology and Function from Multidimensional Images
Eric A. Hoffman, Editor(s)