Sparsity enables estimation of both subcortical and cortical activity from MEG and EEG.

ABSTRACT: Subcortical structures play a critical role in brain function. However, options for assessing electrophysiological activity in these structures are limited. Electromagnetic fields generated by neuronal activity in subcortical structures can be recorded noninvasively, using magnetoencephalography (MEG) and electroencephalography (EEG). However, these subcortical signals are much weaker than those generated by cortical activity. In addition, we show here that it is difficult to resolve subcortical sources because distributed cortical activity can explain the MEG and EEG patterns generated by deep sources. We then demonstrate that if the cortical activity is spatially sparse, both cortical and subcortical sources can be resolved with M/EEG. Building on this insight, we develop a hierarchical

SUBMITTER: Krishnaswamy P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5715738 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature