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Traveling waves in the human visual cortex: An MEG-EEG model-based approach
Laetitia Grabot1,2, Garance Merholz1, Jonathan Winawer3,4
1Université Paris Cité, CNRS, Integrative Neuroscience and Cognition Center, Paris, France.
Plos Computational Biology
|April 17, 2025
Summary
Researchers developed a novel neuroimaging model to detect traveling brain waves using MEG and EEG. This method accurately identifies wave direction and properties, enabling non-invasive study of brain activity and cognition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Biophysics
Background:
- Brain oscillations may propagate as traveling waves in the cortex.
- Non-invasive investigation of these waves in humans using MEG/EEG is challenging due to signal complexities.
- Lack of ground truth data hinders traveling wave identification.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and validate a model-based neuroimaging approach for detecting cortical traveling waves non-invasively.
- To enable the study of endogenous traveling waves and their cognitive roles using MEG/EEG.
Main Methods:
- A two-part model was created: (1) encoding model using fMRI retinotopy to define V1 neural sources, and (2) biophysical head model to project sources onto MEG/EEG sensors.
- Model predictions were compared against MEG/EEG data from participants viewing visual stimuli designed to evoke specific traveling or standing waves.
Main Results:
- The model demonstrated good performance, correlating predicted and measured sensor data.
- Model accuracy was higher for traveling waves aligned with stimulus direction compared to standing waves or oppositely directed traveling waves.
- Model performance peaked at stimulation-specific spatial and temporal frequencies.
Conclusions:
- The developed model successfully recovers traveling wave properties in the cortex.
- This approach provides a robust method for using MEG/EEG to study endogenous traveling waves.
- It lays the groundwork for investigating the role of traveling waves in cognitive processes.
