Electroencephalography source localization analysis in epileptic children during a visual working-memory task

Abstract

We localize the sources of brain activity of children with epilepsy based on electroencephalograph (EEG) recordings acquired during a visual discrimination working memory task. For the numerical solution of the inverse problem, with the aid of age-specific MRI scans processed from a publicly available database, we use and compare three regularization numerical methods, namely the standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA), the weighted minimum norm estimation (wMNE) and the dynamic statistical parametric mapping (dSPM). We show that all three methods provide the same spatio-temporal patterns of differences between the groups of epileptic and control children. In particular, our analysis reveals statistically significant differences between the two groups in regions of the parietal cortex indicating that these may serve as "biomarkers" for diagnostic purposes and ultimately localized treatment.

Keywords: children; epilepsy; neuroimaging; numerical analysis; source localization.