Canonical EEG microstates transitions reflect switching among BOLD resting state networks and predict fMRI signal

Objective. Electroencephalography (EEG) microstates (MSs), which reflect a large topographical representation of coherent electrophysiological brain activity, are widely adopted to study cognitive processes mechanisms and aberrant alterations in brain disorders. MS topographies are quasi-stable lasting between 60-120 ms. Some evidence suggests that MS are the electrophysiological signature of resting-state networks (RSNs). However, the spatial and functional interpretation of MS and their association with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) remains unclear. Approach. In a cohort of healthy subjects (n = 52), we conducted several statistical and machine learning (ML) approaches analyses on the association among MS spatio-temporal dynamics and the blood-oxygenation-level dependent (BOLD) simultaneous EEG-fMRI data using statistical and ML approaches. Main results. Our results using a generalized linear model showed that MS transitions were largely and negatively associated with BOLD signals in the somatomotor, visual, dorsal attention, and ventral attention fMRI networks with limited association within the default mode network. Additionally, a novel recurrent neural network (RNN) confirmed the association between MS transitioning and fMRI signal while revealing that MS dynamics can model BOLD signals and vice versa. Significance. Results suggest that MS transitions may represent the deactivation of fMRI RSNs and provide evidence that both modalities measure common aspects of undergoing brain neuronal activities. These results may help to better understand the electrophysiological interpretation of MS.

Automated summary

The study analyzed the association between EEG microstates and fMRI data in healthy subjects, showing that MS transitions were largely negatively associated with specific fMRI networks. A novel concept was proposed that MS dynamics can model BOLD signals.