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The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Engell, AD; Huettel, S; McCarthy, G
Published in: NeuroImage
February 2012

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) are primary tools of the psychological neurosciences. It is therefore important to understand the relationship between hemodynamic and electrophysiological responses. An early study by Huettel and colleagues found that the coupling of fMRI blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal (BOLD) and subdurally-recorded signal-averaged event-related potentials (ERPs) was not consistent across brain regions. Instead, a growing body of evidence now indicates that hemodynamic changes measured by fMRI reflect non-phase-locked changes in high frequency power rather than the phase-locked ERP. Here, we revisit the data from Huettel and colleagues and measure event-related spectral perturbations (ERSPs) to examine the time course of frequency changes. We found that, unlike the ERP, γ-ERSP power was consistently coupled with the hemodynamic response across three visual cortical regions. Stimulus duration modulated the BOLD signal and the γ-ERSP in the peri-calcarine and fusiform cortices, whereas there was no such modulation of either physiological signal in the lateral temporal-occipital cortex. This finding reconciles the original report with the more recent literature and demonstrates that the ERP and ERSP reflect dissociable aspects of neural activity.

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Published In

NeuroImage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

ISSN

1053-8119

Publication Date

February 2012

Volume

59

Issue

3

Start / End Page

2600 / 2606

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Oxygen
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Hemodynamics
  • Female
  • Evoked Potentials
  • Electrophysiological Phenomena
 

Citation

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Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
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Engell, A. D., Huettel, S., & McCarthy, G. (2012). The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials. NeuroImage, 59(3), 2600–2606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.079
Engell, Andrew D., Scott Huettel, and Gregory McCarthy. “The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials.NeuroImage 59, no. 3 (February 2012): 2600–2606. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.079.
Engell AD, Huettel S, McCarthy G. The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials. NeuroImage. 2012 Feb;59(3):2600–6.
Engell, Andrew D., et al. “The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials.NeuroImage, vol. 59, no. 3, Feb. 2012, pp. 2600–06. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.079.
Engell AD, Huettel S, McCarthy G. The fMRI BOLD signal tracks electrophysiological spectral perturbations, not event-related potentials. NeuroImage. 2012 Feb;59(3):2600–2606.
Journal cover image

Published In

NeuroImage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

ISSN

1053-8119

Publication Date

February 2012

Volume

59

Issue

3

Start / End Page

2600 / 2606

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Oxygen
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Humans
  • Hemodynamics
  • Female
  • Evoked Potentials
  • Electrophysiological Phenomena