Estimates of Neuronal Current Distributions

Abstract

The main purpose of measurements of the magnetic field produced by cerebral electrical activity is to locate this activity or to determine its distribution in the brain. In this paper, methods to locate or otherwise characterize source currents in the brain are briefly discussed. It is emphasized that the optimal source estimation method depends crucially on the availability of prior information and on the questions one wants to resolve with the measurements.

Key Words:

• neural current
• primary current
• estimation theory
• minimum norm estimate
• dipole model
• multi-dipole model
• magnetoencephalography