Combining Electroencephalography and Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Pain Research

Abstract

Numerous studies have used electroencephalogram (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to demonstrate that pain caused by noxious stimulation elicits a widespread array of brain responses. However, their functional significance remains heavily debated. A number of studies have attempted to simultaneously record EEG and fMRI responses to noxious stimuli, with the aim of combining the high temporal resolution of EEG with the high spatial resolution of fMRI, and thus define these responses more precisely. However, because EEG and fMRI do not sample necessarily the same neural activity, interpretation of these studies requires caution. This chapter (1) examines the general and practical issues related to the simultaneous collection of EEG and fMRI responses to noxious stimulation, (2) reviews the studies that have attempted to combine such recordings, and (3) illustrates how analysis of EEG data at the level of single-trials can be used to drive the analysis of simultaneously collected fMRI data, and how this EEG-informed blood oxygen level-dependent modelling approach can provide novel physiological information.