Findings about LORETA Applied to High-Density EEG—A Review

Serena Dattola,Francesco Carlo Morabito,Nadia Mammone,Fabio La Foresta

doi:10.3390/electronics9040660

Serena Dattola, Francesco Carlo Morabito + Show 2 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.3390/electronics9040660

Copy DOI

Journal: Electronics	Publication Date: Apr 17, 2020
Citations: 18	License type: CC BY 4.0

Affiliation: University of Reggio Calabria

Abstract

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive diagnostic technique for recording brain electric activity. The EEG source localization has been an area of research widely explored during the last decades because it provides helpful information about brain physiology and abnormalities. Source localization consists in solving the so-called EEG inverse problem. Over the years, one of the most employed method for solving it has been LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography). In particular, in this review, we focused on the findings about the LORETA family algorithms applied to high-density EEGs (HD-EEGs), used for improving the low spatial resolution deriving from the traditional EEG systems. The results were classified according to their clinical application and some aspects arisen from the analyzed papers were discussed. Finally, suggestions were provided for future improvement. In this way, the combination of LORETA with HD-EEGs could become an even more valuable tool for noninvasive clinical evaluation in the field of applied neuroscience.

Highlights

Brain imaging refers to several techniques which map the structure and functions of the brain, used for investigations in cognitive neuroscience and for clinical applications
The objective of our work is to provide a review of the findings about this methodology, classifying them according to their clinical application
These findings suggested that source localization of the epileptogenic zone by Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (LORETA) could be a good instrument for presurgical planning

Summary

Introduction

Brain imaging refers to several techniques which map the structure and functions of the brain, used for investigations in cognitive neuroscience and for clinical applications. Imaging techniques differ according to several factors, such as spatial and temporal resolution, invasiveness and cost [1]. EEG is a non-invasive diagnostic tool which records the electrical signals, generated by neurons, from electrodes placed on the head surface. For its non-invasiveness and its relatively low cost, over the years EEG has become a powerful instrument successfully employed in different fields, such as neurosurgery, neurology, and cognitive science. During the last two decades, LORETA (Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography) has been one of the most employed algorithm for the brain source localization, turning out to be a promising tool in several clinical fields.

Objectives

Results

Conclusion