Abstract
Combined recordings of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and Electroencephalography (EEG) allow answering detailed questions about the real temporal dynamics of brain activity and the cooperation of brain regions. In this context, much effort has been made to explore the role of high frequency oscillations in the gamma band of the EEG. The integration of the high temporal resolution of EEG with the high spatial resolution of fMRI provides the possibility to look for correlations between human EEG gamma band activity and the BOLD response in combined experiments. Here, we discuss problems, recent developments, and research findings regarding the relation of EEG gamma activity and fMRI–BOLD signal and possible applications of the integration of EEG and fMRI in this field. According to several investigations, there seems to be a stronger correlation between the high-frequency components of the EEG signal and the BOLD response compared to lower frequency bands. We review technical challenges emerging in the simultaneous recordings of fMRI and gamma activity since the amplitudes of high-frequency EEG fractions are small, and the artifact handicap carries more weight. Statistical methods like principal component analysis (PCA) or independent component analysis (ICA), as well as various innovations in EEG- and fMRI-recording techniques may be putative solutions. Furthermore, we provide an overview regarding applications of fMRI analyses informed with time courses of EEG gamma activity used for uncovering processes of communication in the brain, for example, during the resting state, processes of visual spatial attention or working memory and cognitively demanding auditory information processing.
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Leicht, G., Herrmann, C.S., Mulert, C. (2022). BOLD-Response and EEG Gamma Oscillations. In: Mulert, C., Lemieux, L. (eds) EEG - fMRI. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-07121-8_26
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