Development of grouped icEEG for the study of cognitive processing

Front Psychol. 2015 Jul 21:6:1008. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01008. eCollection 2015.

Abstract

Invasive intracranial EEG (icEEG) offers a unique opportunity to study human cognitive networks at an unmatched spatiotemporal resolution. To date, the contributions of icEEG have been limited to the individual-level analyses or cohorts whose data are not integrated in any way. Here we discuss how grouped approaches to icEEG overcome challenges related to sparse-sampling, correct for individual variations in response and provide statistically valid models of brain activity in a population. By the generation of whole-brain activity maps, grouped icEEG enables the study of intra and interregional dynamics between distributed cortical substrates exhibiting task-dependent activity. In this fashion, grouped icEEG analyses can provide significant advances in understanding the mechanisms by which cortical networks give rise to cognitive functions.

Keywords: ECoG; cortical network dynamics; distributed cortical networks; face perception; fusiform face area (FFA); icEEG; parahippocampal place area (PPA); ventral temporal cortex.