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Designing MEG Experiments

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Magnetoencephalography

Abstract

With well-designed experiments, the exquisite temporal resolution of MEG allows investigators to track the temporal progression of cortical activity throughout the brain during sensory and cognitive tasks and further allows investigators to capture the interplay between the nodes of the cortical network activity underlying brain function. Because of this high temporal resolution, a number of considerations must be considered to obtain good quality MEG data. These considerations include: recording parameters, participant considerations, stimulus equipment and timing reliability, stimulus parameters and temporal sensitivity of the response. This chapter reviews the common instrumentation parameters, peripheral equipment that provides the precise timing needed for MEG experiments, and participant-monitoring equipment that provides complementary information for data quality and data interpretation purposes. Modality-specific (auditory, visual, tactile and motor) factors to consider during data collection are also discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. The Mind Research Network, Albuquerque, NM, USA

    Julia M. Stephen

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  1. Julia M. Stephen
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Correspondence to Julia M. Stephen .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Science Dep. of Physics, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

    Selma Supek

  2. School of Medicine Department of Radiology, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, USA

    Cheryl J. Aine

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Stephen, J.M. (2014). Designing MEG Experiments. In: Supek, S., Aine, C. (eds) Magnetoencephalography. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33045-2_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-33045-2_5

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-33044-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-33045-2

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