Recent advances in recording electrophysiological data simultaneously with magnetic resonance imaging

Simultaneous recording of brain activity by different neurophysiological modalities can yield insights that reach beyond those obtained by each technique individually, even when compared to those from the post-hoc integration of results from each technique recorded sequentially. Success in the endeavour of real-time multimodal experiments requires special hardware and software as well as purpose-tailored experimental design and analysis strategies. Here, we review the key methodological issues in recording electrophysiological data in humans simultaneously with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), focusing on recent technical and analytical advances in the field. Examples are derived from simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and electromyography (EMG) during functional MRI in cognitive and systems neuroscience as well as in clinical neurology, in particular in epilepsy and movement disorders. We conclude with an outlook on current and future efforts to achieve true integration of electrical and haemodynamic measures of neuronal activity using data fusion models.