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Connecting Mean Field Models of Neural Activity to EEG and fMRI Data

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Abstract

Progress in functional neuroimaging of the brain increasingly relies on the integration of data from complementary imaging modalities in order to improve spatiotemporal resolution and interpretability. However, the usefulness of merely statistical combinations is limited, since neural signal sources differ between modalities and are related non-trivially. We demonstrate here that a mean field model of brain activity can simultaneously predict EEG and fMRI BOLD with proper signal generation and expression. Simulations are shown using a realistic head model based on structural MRI, which includes both dense short-range background connectivity and long-range specific connectivity between brain regions. The distribution of modeled neural masses is comparable to the spatial resolution of fMRI BOLD, and the temporal resolution of the modeled dynamics, importantly including activity conduction, matches the fastest known EEG phenomena. The creation of a cortical mean field model with anatomically sound geometry, extensive connectivity, and proper signal expression is an important first step towards the model-based integration of multimodal neuroimages.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre for Neuroscience, Radboud University Nijmegen (Medical Centre), P.O. Box 9101//126, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands

    Ingo Bojak, Thom F. Oostendorp, Andrew T. Reid & Rolf Kötter

Authors
  1. Ingo Bojak
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  2. Thom F. Oostendorp
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  3. Andrew T. Reid
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  4. Rolf Kötter
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thom F. Oostendorp.

Additional information

This is one of several papers published together in Brain Topography on the “Special Topic: Cortical Network Analysis with EEG/MEG”.

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Bojak, I., Oostendorp, T.F., Reid, A.T. et al. Connecting Mean Field Models of Neural Activity to EEG and fMRI Data. Brain Topogr 23, 139–149 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-010-0140-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-010-0140-3

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