Neuroimaging with magnetoencephalography: A dynamic view of brain pathophysiology

Abstract

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a noninvasive, silent, and totally-passive neurophysiological imaging method with excellent temporal resolution (∼1 ms) and good spatial precision (∼3-5 mm). In a typical experiment, MEG data are acquired while healthy controls and/or patients with neurologic or psychiatric disorders perform a specific cognitive task and/or receive sensory stimulation. The resulting data are generally analyzed using standard electrophysiological methods, coupled with advanced image reconstruction algorithms. To date, the total number of MEG instruments and associated users is significantly smaller than comparable human neuroimaging techniques, although this is likely to change in the near future with advances in the technology. Despite this small base, MEG research has made a significant impact on several areas of translational neuroscience, largely through its unique capacity to quantify the oscillatory dynamics of activated brain circuits in humans. This review focuses on the clinical areas where MEG imaging has arguably had the greatest impact, in regard to the identification of aberrant neural dynamics at the regional and/or network-level, monitoring of disease progression, determining how efficacious pharmacological and behavioral interventions modulate neural systems, and the development of neural markers of disease. Specifically, this review covers recent advances in understanding the abnormal neural oscillatory dynamics that underlie Parkinson's disease, autism spectrum disorders, HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders, cerebral palsy, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, cognitive aging, and posttraumatic stress disorder. MEG imaging has had a major impact on how clinical neuroscientists understand the brain basis of these disorders, and its translational influence is rapidly expanding with new discoveries and applications emerging continuously.

Oscillatory dynamics in the dorsal and ventral attention networks during the reorienting of attention

“…For example, our study focused on younger adults and healthy aging has been associated with declines in some cognitive functions (Park et al, 2002), including deficits in the disengagement of attention from spatial cues (Erel & Levy, 2016;Langley, Friesen, Saville, & Ciernia, 2011). Additionally, previous studies have demonstrated age-related differences in the neural activity underlying attention-demanding cognitive operations (Grady, 2012;Wilson, Heinrichs-Graham, Proskovec, & McDermott, 2016). As such, future studies should investigate the effects of aging on the dynamics of oscillatory activity serving attentional reorienting.…”

Developmental Trajectory of Beta Cortical Oscillatory Activity During a Knee Motor Task

“…We suspect that this developmental change will be partially linked with the maturation of the fiber tracts that serve the cortical areas identified in this investigation. Understanding this potential link is critical for advancing translational studies of the sensorimotor system in patients with developmental disabilities (e.g., Kurz et al 2014b, 2015a, b; Wilson et al 2016), and should be considered high priority for clinical studies of motor control.…”

The impact of type 1 diabetes on neural activity serving attention

“…MEG acquisition and analysis methodology followed standardized pipelines, corresponding to normative studies previously published by our group (Heinrichs-Graham & Wilson, 2015; McDermott, Wiesman, Proskovec, Heinrichs-Graham, & Wilson, 2017; Proskovec, Heinrichs-Graham, Wiesman, McDermott, & Wilson, 2018;Wiesman, Heinrichs-Graham,Wilson, Heinrichs-Graham, Proskovec, & McDermott, 2016).…”