Brain scale-free properties in awake rest and NREM sleep: a simultaneous EEG/fMRI study

Electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies revealed that spontaneous activity in the brain has scale-invariant properties, as indicated by a frequency spectrum that follows a power-law distribution. However, current knowledge about the exact relationship between scaling properties in EEG and fMRI signals is very limited. To address this question, we collected simultaneous EEG-fMRI data in healthy individuals during resting wakefulness and non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep. For either of these conditions, we found that both EEG and fMRI power spectra followed a power-law distribution. Furthermore, the EEG and fMRI scaling exponents were highly variable across subjects, and sensitive to the choice of reference and nuisance variables in EEG and fMRI data, respectively. Interestingly, the EEG exponent of the whole brain selectively corresponded to the fMRI exponent of the thalamus during NREM sleep. Together, our findings suggest that scale-free brain activity is characterized by robust temporal structures and behavioral significance. This motivates future studies to unravel its physiological mechanisms, as well as its relevance to behavior.