title: Effects of sutures and fontanels on MEG and EEG source analysis in a realistic infant head model.
abstract: In infants, the fontanels and sutures as well as conductivity of the skull influence the volume currents accompanying primary currents generated by active neurons and thus the associated electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals. We used a finite element method (FEM) to construct a realistic model of the head of an infant based on MRI images. Using this model, we investigated the effects of the fontanels, sutures and skull conductivity on forward and inverse EEG and MEG source analysis. Simulation results show that MEG is better suited than EEG to study early brain development because it is much less sensitive than EEG to distortions of the volume current caused by the fontanels and sutures and to inaccurate estimates of skull conductivity. Best results will be achieved when MEG and EEG are used in combination.
authors.affiliation: Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, 149 13th Street, Suite 2301, Charlestown 02129, USA. slew@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Seok
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lew
authors.forename: Danielle D
authors.initials: DD
authors.lastname: Sliva
authors.forename: Myong-sun
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Choe
authors.forename: P Ellen
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Grant
authors.forename: Yoshio
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Okada
authors.forename: Carsten H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Wolters
authors.forename: Matti S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Hämäläinen
mesh_terms: D016477:Artifacts; D003198:Computer Simulation; D055762:Cranial Fontanelles; D003393:Cranial Sutures; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005260:Female; D020342:Finite Element Analysis; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D015225:Magnetoencephalography; D008959:Models, Neurological; D019047:Phantoms, Imaging