Source models of sleep spindles using MEG and EEG measurements

Abstract

MEG measurements can detect brain sources that are difficult to detect with EEG measurements. The purpose of this study was to investigate models of sleep spindles using both MEG and EEG activity that had been recorded simultaneously. The components of magnetic fields perpendicular to the surface of the head were measured using a DC-SQUID with a first-derivative gradiometer. We propose three models for sleep spindles. In the first model, the source slides into the superficial region of the head so as to be perpendicular to it's surface, and with this model, the power spectrum of the MEG is decreased. In the second model, the source slides into the deeper structures, so that it is perpendicular to the surface. Here, the power spectra of both the MEG and the EEG are decreased. The third model has the source perpendicular to the surface, leaning and sliding into the deeper structures. Here, the power spectrum of the EEG is decreased but that of the MEG is not.