Thalamic Relay of Frequency-Specific EEG Scalp Field Maps

Simon Schwab¹, Thomas Koenig¹, Andrea Federspiel¹, Thomas Dierks¹, Kay Jann¹

In the present work, we aimed to define the frequency specific thalamic areas generating distinct synchronized cortical networks, as indexed by EEG scalp fields oscillating with a common phase. Fourteen healthy subjects underwent simultaneous EEG/fMRI. The EEG was subjected to a Topographic Time-Frequency Decomposition that formed 6 classes of transient states of synchronized oscillation which were used to fit the thalamic BOLD response. For each of the EEG scalp fields, subregions corresponding to thalamic nuclei were identified. Therefore, our study provides a novel way to elucidate the systematics of subcortical effects on the formation of large scale cortical networks.