Integrating TMS, EEG, and MRI as an Approach for Studying Brain Connectivity

Abstract

The human brain is a complex network in which hundreds of brain regions are interconnected via thousands of axonal pathways. The capability of such a complex system emerges from specific interactions among smaller entities, a set of events that can be described by the activation of interconnections between brain areas. Studies that focus on brain connectivity have the aim of understanding and modeling brain function, taking into account the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural communication between brain regions. Much of the current knowledge regarding brain connectivity has been obtained from stand-alone neuroimaging methods. Nevertheless, the use of a multimodal approach seems to be a powerful way to investigate effective brain connectivity, overcoming the limitations of unimodal approaches. In this review, we will present the advantages of an integrative approach in which transcranial magnetic stimulation–electroencephalography coregistration is combined with magnetic resonance imaging methods to explore effective neural interactions. Moreover, we will describe possible implementations of the integrative approach in open- and closed-loop frameworks where real-time brain activity becomes a contributor to the study of cognitive brain networks.

Proceedings of the 2021 ISNR Annual Conference (Virtual): Keynote and Plenary Presentations

“…Data evaluating EEG sources with low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) are scarce. Thus, the current study aims to evaluate changes in functional connectivity of EEG frequency bands, with special emphasis on theta power in the prefrontal cortices as a result of rTMS (Esposito et al, 2020). This explorative study consists of four males between the age of 21 and 76, mean 52, SD = 23.84.…”

An integrated TMS-EEG and MRI approach to explore the interregional connectivity of the default mode network

“…The majority of studies on brain connectivity have been obtained from stand-alone unimodal neuroimaging methods (Plis et al 2011). We proposed the use of an integrative approach with a combination of different methods (Bergmann et al 2016) composed of structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI and fMRI, respectively), diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI), and transcranial magnetic stimulation and electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) coregistration (Bortoletto et al 2021;Esposito et al 2020;Levy-Lamdan et al 2020;Momi et al 2021;Voineskos et al 2010).…”

Functional and Structural Networks Decoupling in GTCS and Its Reorganization by Drugs

“…Speci cally, accumulated studies found that the entire brain was affected through the thalamocortical and corticocortical connectivity (Aghakhani et al, 2004;Blumenfeld et al, 2003;Gotman et al, 2005). Functional connectivity (FC) is the statistical correlation between different brain regions in terms of information processing and structural connectivity (SC) (Esposito, Bortoletto, & Miniussi, 2020). Diffusion tensor image (DTI) is often used to construct the SC based on the white matter traction, and to investigate the mechanism in healthy brain and/or disorders (Gong et al, 2019;Jiang et al, 2020;Xue et al, 2014).…”