BRAIN ACTIVITY MAPS INTEGRATING FMRI, EEG AND MEG

描述（改编自申请人摘要）：神经学评估依赖于两大类技术：(1)结构和血流动力学/代谢过程的断层扫描重建；(2)电磁场记录。这些技术具有互补的敏感性。使用功能磁共振成像（fMRI）对脑活动的血流动力学评估在时间上受到血流动力学反应潜伏期的限制，大约为1秒，但可以提供毫米的空间采样。脑电图（EEG）和脑磁图（MEG）提供的时间分辨率小于1毫秒，但它们对多源的空间分辨率是模糊和有限的。申请人开发了一种将脑磁图与功能磁共振成像和结构磁共振成像相结合的方法，以获得动态人脑活动的高分辨率时空图。我们在此建议将这种方法扩展到脑电图，这是一种更便宜，更广泛使用且临床验证的MEG替代方法。该综合方法将在模拟研究以及与人类颅内记录的直接比较中进行改进和测试。因此，当前研究的最终目标是验证和扩展一种有效的方法，将用于神经诊断的主要技术结合起来。预计该方法将应用于癫痫病灶的术前规划定位和选择性神经外科手术中执行基本功能的皮层的保留。建议的商业应用：神经精神诊断和科学软件。

DESCRIPTION (Adapted from applicant's abstract): Neurological assessment relies on two main categories of technology: (1) tomographic reconstruction of structure and hemodynamic/metabolic processes; and (2) recordings of electromagnetic fields. These technologies have complementary sensitivities. Hemodynamic assessment of brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is temporally limited by the latency of the hemodynamic response, about 1 second, but can provide millimeter spatial sampling. Electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) provide temporal resolution of less than 1 millisecond, but their spatial resolution for multiple sources is ambiguous and limited. The applicants have developed a method that combines MEG with fMRI and structural MRI to obtain high-resolution spatiotemporal maps of dynamic human brain activity. We propose here to extend this method to include EEG, a less expensive, more widely available and clinically validated alternative to MEG. The integrated method will be refined and tested in simulation studies as well as by direct comparison with intracranial recordings in humans. Thus, the ultimate goal of the current research is to validate and extend an effective method that unites the dominant technologies used for neurological diagnosis. It is anticipated that this method will have applications in the localization of epileptic foci for presurgical planning and the sparing of cortex performing essential functions in elective neurosurgery. PROPOSED COMMERCIAL APPLICATION: Neuropsychiatric diagnosis and scientific software.