Parallel independent component analysis using an optimized neurovascular coupling for concurrent EEG-fMRI sources

The complexity of the human brain and the limitation of any one imaging approach motivates the need for multimodal measurements to better understand cerebral processing. A very natural goal is to integrate electrophysiological and hemodynamic activity. Among them, concurrent EEG-fMRI studies have shown great promise for understanding intrinsic brain properties yet analyzing such data presents a significant methodological challenge. Here, we propose a multivariate parallel ICA decomposition incorporating dynamic neurovascular coupling for concurrent EEG-fMRI recordings. The goal of our algorithm is to fuse multimodal EEG-fMRI information and detect/interpret the relationship between electrophysiological and hemodynamic sources via a temporal neurovascular connection enhancement. We analyze the performance of the algorithm on a valid simulation based on real EEG and fMRI components (sources) from our previous works and a neurovascular coupling built from an extended ‘balloon model’. The results from our simulations yield an accurate source tracking and linkage for concurrent EEG-fMRI, and provide a novel and efficient way to combine EEG and hemodynamic responses.