P300 recordings during event-related fMRI: a feasibility study

Abstract

Analysis of combined event-related potentials (ERP) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can provide a high temporal and high spatial resolution to study functional cerebral processes. However, EEG data recorded inside an MR scanner is heavily distorted by artifacts. It is important in cognitive studies to ensure that recorded data reflect the same brain activity, and this is achieved through interleaved electroencephalographic (EEG) and fMRI measurements. Here, we demonstrate the feasibility of recording P300 ERPs during fMRI using a three-stimulus visual oddball task and involving a small number of trials for each stimulus. Ten EEG channels were acquired interleaved with fMRI images in five healthy subjects. The stimuli, including rare targets “X,” frequent repetitive distractors “O,” and rare distractors referred to as novels, were randomly presented every 2 ± 1 s. The post hoc filter presented here was designed and applied to EEG data to remove the cardiac pulse artifact. Interleaved EEG/fMRI acquisition evidenced two P300 ERPs evoked at Fz, Cz, and Pz by targets and novels. Novel-related ERPs were of higher amplitude than their target-related counterparts. The fMRI maps acquired concurrently showed stronger BOLD response for target condition. We have shown that interleaved acquisition allows to obtain reliable P300 data and fMRI results, likely to shed light on the anatomical location of brain regions involved in cognitive ERPs relevant to many disorders affecting CNS functions. These noninvasive multimodal neuroimaging techniques can be used to explore and better understand processes underlying the functional brain organization.