Clinical applications of magnetoencephalography in epilepsy

Abstract

Magnetoencehalography (MEG) is being used with increased frequency in the pre-surgical evaluation of patients with epilepsy. One of the major advantages of this technique over the EEG is the lack of distortion of MEG signals by the skull and intervening soft tissue. In addition, the MEG preferentially records activity from tangential sources thus recording activity predominantly from sulci, which is not contaminated by activity from apical gyral (radial) sources. While the MEG is probably more sensitive than the EEG in detecting interictal spikes, especially in the some locations such as the superficial frontal cortex and the lateral temporal neocortex, both techniques are usually complementary to each other. The diagnostic accuracy of MEG source localization is usually better as compared to scalp EEG localization. Functional localization of eloquent cortex is another major application of the MEG. The combination of high spatial and temporal resolution of this technique makes it an extremely helpful tool for accurate localization of visual, somatosensory and auditory cortices as well as complex cognitive functions like language. Potential future applications include lateralization of memory function.