Università degli Studi di Cagliari
An atlas-based MEG beamformer solution for the characterisation of frequency-dependent functional connectivity within resting-state brain networks
29 aprile 2013
Dipartimento di Sanità Pubblica, Medicina Clinica e Molecolare
Il Prof. Arjan Hillebrand (VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, The Netherlands) terrà il giorno lunedì 29 aprile 2013 alle ore 15:00 presso l’Aula 16 dell’Asse E della Cittadella Universitaria di Monserrato il seguente seminario:
“An atlas-based MEG beamformer solution for the characterisation
of frequency-dependent functional connectivity within resting-state brain networks”.
Abstract:
Magnetoencephalography (MEG) has the temporal resolution to capture the frequency-dependent interactions between spatially separated brain regions that are thought to underlie cognitive function. However, volume conduction and field spread may lead to spurious measurements when functional connectivity is estimated on the basis of the extra-cranial recordings directly. I will first demonstrate that this problem is not completely solved by going to source-space, and then present a recently developed analysis framework that is based around two main ideas: (i) functional connectivity is computed for a set of atlas-based ROIs in anatomical space that covers almost the entire brain, providing a general framework that allows for a direct anatomical interpretation of MEG data, as well as a direct comparison with (functional) connectivity and network studies based on anatomical and functional MRI (DTI, VBM, fMRI); (ii) volume conduction and similar bias effects are removed by using a functional connectivity estimator that is insensitive to these effects, namely the Phase Lag Index (PLI). Finally, I will show how this approach has been used to reveal properties of functional networks that were linked to disease progression, disease severity and/or cognitive performance in Multiple Sclerosis and patients with brain tumours.
Matteo Fraschini
Assistant Professor
DIEE - University of Cagliari
Piazza D’armi
09123 Cagliari
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