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An Investigation of the Relationship Between fMRI and ERP Source Localized Measurements of Brain Activity during Face Processing

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Abstract

Brain activity patterns during face processing have been extensively explored with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and event-related potentials (ERPs). ERP source localization adds a spatial dimension to the ERP time series recordings, which allows for a more direct comparison and integration with fMRI findings. The goals for this study were (1) to compare the spatial descriptions of neuronal activity during face processing obtained with fMRI and ERP source localization using low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA), and (2) to use the combined information from source localization and fMRI to explore how the temporal sequence of brain activity during face processing is summarized in fMRI activation maps. fMRI and high-density ERP data were acquired in separate sessions for 17 healthy adult males for a face and object processing task. LORETA statistical maps for the comparison of viewing faces and viewing houses were coregistered and compared to fMRI statistical maps for the same conditions. The spatial locations of face processing-sensitive activity measured by fMRI and LORETA were found to overlap in a number of areas including the bilateral fusiform gyri, the right superior, middle and inferior temporal gyri, and the bilateral precuneus. Both the fMRI and LORETA solutions additionally demonstrated activity in regions that did not overlap. fMRI and LORETA statistical maps of face processing-sensitive brain activity were found to converge spatially primarily at LORETA solution latencies that were within 18 ms of the N170 latency. The combination of data from these techniques suggested that electrical brain activity at the latency of the N170 is highly represented in fMRI statistical maps.

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Acknowledgments

This research was funded by a program project grant from the NIMH Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (U54MH066399). The Murdock Trust provided funds for purchase of the system for recording electroencephalographic activity. This work was also facilitated by grant no. P30 HD02274 from the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. We gratefully acknowledge the contributions of these funding sources, the UW Autism Clinical and Statistical Cores of this project, and the individuals who participated in this study. We additionally thank Jenee O’Brien for her assistance in acquiring the MR data for this study.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, 1100 NE 45th Street, Suite 555, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Neva M. Corrigan

  2. Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Todd Richards, Natalia M. Kleinhans & Elizabeth Aylward

  3. Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Sara Jane Webb, Michael Murias & Geraldine Dawson

  4. UW Autism Center, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Kristen Merkle

  5. Department of Psychosocial and Community Health, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    L. Clark Johnson

  6. Department of Biological Structure, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Andrew Poliakov

  7. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Geraldine Dawson

Authors
  1. Neva M. Corrigan
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  2. Todd Richards
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  3. Sara Jane Webb
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  4. Michael Murias
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  5. Kristen Merkle
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  6. Natalia M. Kleinhans
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  7. L. Clark Johnson
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  8. Andrew Poliakov
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  9. Elizabeth Aylward
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  10. Geraldine Dawson
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Neva M. Corrigan.

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Figure S1

A comprehensive overview of the LORETA results for this study. Each bar in this plot represents activity specific to face processing for the brain region listed to the left, as determined by the comparison of current source density activity for the contrast between the viewing of faces and the viewing of houses. The presence of a bar at any latency along the x-axis indicates suprathreshold (t value > 3.0) at the corresponding time point. (tif 12112 kb)

Figure S2

FMRI and LORETA overlapping activity for three individual subjects superimposed on a standardized brain. The fMRI activity shown in these images (yellow-orange) are estimates of each individuals’ contrast parameter estimates (“cope” maps) derived from the FSL analysis for the contrast between faces and houses. The LORETA activity (blue) represents current density for the house condition subtracted from current density for the face condition, for the LORETA solution averaged from 130 to 140 ms after stimulus onset. (tif 8782 kb)

Figure S3

FMRI and LORETA overlapping activity for two individual subjects superimposed on a standardized brain. The fMRI activity shown in these images (yellow-orange) are estimates of each individuals’ contrast parameter estimates (“cope” maps) derived from the FSL analysis for the contrast between faces and houses. The LORETA activity (blue) represents current density for the house condition subtracted from current density for the face condition, for the LORETA solution averaged from 130 to 140 ms after stimulus onset. (tif 4984 kb)

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Corrigan, N.M., Richards, T., Webb, S.J. et al. An Investigation of the Relationship Between fMRI and ERP Source Localized Measurements of Brain Activity during Face Processing. Brain Topogr 22, 83–96 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10548-009-0086-5

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