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Updated: Nov 1, 2025
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Concurrent EEG and Functional MRI Recording and Integration Analysis for Dynamic Cortical Activity Imaging
Published on: June 30, 2018
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Sensing and seeing associated with overlapping occipitoparietal activation in simultaneous EEG-fMRI
Catriona L Scrivener1,2, Asad Malik1, Michael Lindner1
1Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Earley, Reading, RG6 6BZ, UK.
Neuroscience of Consciousness
|June 24, 2021
Summary
Detecting visual changes without full awareness, or "sensing," is distinct from being change blind. This study used electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to differentiate these states, revealing unique brain activity patterns for sensing.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Neuroimaging
- Visual Perception
Background:
- Visual change detection influences brain activity and behavior, even without conscious report.
- The neural basis of partially sensing a visual change, distinct from full awareness or blindness, remains unclear.
- Existing electroencephalography (EEG) and eye-tracking data offer limited insight into functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) correlates.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between sensing a visual change and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) activation.
- To differentiate neural activity associated with 'sensing' a change versus 'localizing' or being 'blind' to it.
- To explore the role of visual working memory in partial awareness during change blindness.
Main Methods:
- Utilized a change blindness paradigm combining EEG and fMRI.
- Compared neural activity across three trial types: 'sense' (detecting change but not location), 'localize'/'see' (detecting and locating change), and 'blind' (no detection).
- Performed ERP-informed fMRI analysis to correlate EEG and fMRI signals.
Main Results:
- EEG showed differences between localized and blind trials, but ERP-informed fMRI revealed no significant voxels correlating with late positivity amplitudes.
- fMRI demonstrated increased BOLD activation in visual (BA17,18), parietal (BA7,40), and mid-brain (anterior cingulate, BA24) areas for 'sensed' changes compared to blind trials.
- Both 'seeing' and 'sensing' changes engaged an overlapping occipitoparietal network compared to blind trials.
Conclusions:
- Sensing a visual change is neurally distinguishable from being change blind.
- Increased fMRI activation in visual and parietal areas suggests sensing is not due to a lack of stored visual representation.
- Partial awareness during change blindness may stem from variations in the quality of visual representation rather than its absence.
