Contributo in volume, 2024, ENG, 10.1007/978-1-0716-3545-2_8

MEG

Arcara, Giorgio and Pellegrino, Giovanni and Pascarella, Annalisa and Mantini, Dante and Kobayashi, Eliane and Jerbi, Karim

San Camillo Hospital IRCCS, Venezia; Clinical Neurological Sciences - Schulich School of Medicine - @WesternU - London, Ontario, Canada; Istituto per le Applicazioni del Calcolo "Mario Picone", CNR, Roma; Research Center for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, 3001 Leuven, Belgium; Department of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Faculty of Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, QC, H4H 1R3, Canada; Computational and Cognitive Neuroscience Lab (CoCo Lab), University of Montreal, QC, Canada

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a valuable non-invasive neurophysiology technique for investigation of brain function and dysfunction. In this chapter, we will discuss the main characteristics of MEG signals, and the great potential it offers for scientific interrogation in psychology, cognitive neuroscience, neurology, and neuropsychiatry. Starting from the physical properties of MEG recordings, the chapter will highlight the main advantages of utilizing MEG in neuroscience (that is a combination of very high temporal resolution and good spatial resolution) and will summarize the current status of MEG in research and clinical settings. To make this topic more relatable to widely available electroencephalography (EEG), we will present several comparisons of MEG with EEG. The objective of the present chapter is to provide a broad overview of the principle concepts and strengths of MEG, aimed at newcomers to the field.

Keywords

MEG, Magnetencephalography, Electrophysiology, Source estimation, Brain Mapping, Magnetic Fields

CNR authors

Pascarella Annalisa

CNR institutes

IAC – Istituto per le applicazioni del calcolo "Mauro Picone"