Targeting brain functions from the scalp: Transcranial brain atlas based on large-scale fMRI data synthesis

Publication date: Available online 22 January 2020Source: NeuroImageAuthor(s): Yihan Jiang, Zheng Li, Yang Zhao, Xiang Xiao, Wei Zhang, Peipei Sun, Yihong Yang, Chaozhe ZhuAbstractTranscranial brain mapping techniques, such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), have been playing an increasingly important role in studies of human brain functions. Given a brain function of interest, fNIRS probes and TMS coils should be properly placed on the scalp to ensure that the function is effectively measured or modulated. However, since brain activity is inside the skull and invisible to the researcher during placement, this blind targeting may cause the device to partially or completely miss the functional target, resulting in inconsistent experimental results and divergent clinical outcomes, especially when participants' structural MRI data are not available. To address this issue, we propose here a framework for targeting a designated function directly from the scalp. First, a functional brain atlas for the targeted brain function is constructed via a meta-analysis of large-scale functional magnetic resonance imaging datasets. Second, the functional brain atlas is presented on the scalp surface by using a transcranial mapping previously established from an structural MRI dataset (n = 114), resulting in a novel functional transcranial brain atlas (fTBA). Finally, a low-cost, portable scalp-navigation system is used to localize...

Source: NeuroImage - January 23, 2020 Category: Neuroscience Source Type: research