Combining fMRI and MEG

Overview

fMRI and MEG (see glossary) are two different techniques used to find information about brain activity. fMRI has good spatial resolution and MEG has good temporal resolution (see glossary). The eventual aim of this project is to develop a technique that combines the spatial resolution of fMRI and the temporal resolution of MEG. The combined technique would be a very useful tool for examining brain physiology. It is hoped that with it it would be possible to actually track signals around the brain.

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Procedure

Shape of the subject's head

MEG data is gathered, which is technically difficult. Separately, anatomical information about the subject's head is obtained using MRI. In the first stage of the project, the aim is to be able to combine the MEG information with the MRI information. This process is called coregistration, and is necessary because MEG data contains no structural information. Later on in the project, the process of combining the MEG data with the fMRI information will be investigated.

Currently development is centring on the development of an algorithm to perform the first coregistration.

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Researchers

The following people are involved in the research project:

Adnan Alwatban
Richard Bowtell
Sue Francis
Jiabao He
Peter Morris

Magnetic Resonance Centre

Ian Holiday

Aston University

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