Reproducibility and validity of electric source localisation with high-resolution electroencephalography

The present study investigates the reproducibility and validity of the EEG source localisation of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) using high-resolution EEG (61 scalp electrodes) and a source reconstruction on the basis of the individual brain morphology as obtained from magnetic resonance images (MRIs). The somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs) to electrical stimulation of the right median nerve were repeatedly collected from the scalp of one healthy subject in 9 replications run on 9 different days. The source reconstruction for the 19 ms SEP component was performed by using a single moving dipole model as a source model. Two different head models were used: a spherical 3 shell model and a more realistically shaped 3 compartment model computed using the boundary element method (BEM). The source locations of the 19 ms SEP component were found to be highly reproducible using both head models: the mean standard deviation of the dipole locations was found to be 2.6 mm for the 3 shell model and 4 mm for the more realistically shaped head model. By projection into the individual MRI, the dipoles resulting from either head models were found to be located within the postcentral gyrus. The electric source locations were consistent with the maximum of the task-specific changes seen in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) experiment when using the same somatosensory stimulation protocol. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd.