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On June 12th/13th 2010, Sharon Ann Lee will be discussing Spatial Navigation brain activity results calculated using MOST-EEG at the Pacific Northwest Chapter Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience. The conference will be held at the University of Victoria.

Lee will give a poster presentation titled: Multiple Origin Spatio-Temporal EEG: MOST-EEG distinguishes neural networks of two cognitive states

Abstract: EEG-mapping of neural activity has distinct advantages over other methods in terms of cost and temporal resolution, but is limited in the analysis of spatial origins. Recently we developed a new way to improve the spatial analysis of activity and provide some evidence for functional connectivity of the cortex. Here we demonstrate that spatial analysis can distinguish the neural activities of two related cognitive states. Studies have shown that spatial navigation requires activation of multiple brain areas, especially in the right hemisphere. We recorded 32-channels of EEG while 31 healthy (human) participants navigated a modified virtual Morris Water Maze. Participants were required to go to a visible location (i.e., simple locomotion) or find their way to an invisible location marked by a nearby object (i.e., cue-based navigation). We recorded EEG during the first second of 4 trials of locomotion to the visible location, and 5 trials of navigation to the invisible location. We used our newly developed Multi-Origin Spatio-Temporal (MOST-EEG) analysis to identify areas of activity and to show areas that were strongly ‘connected’ under the two conditions. (See study results on our “Technology” page.) We found that activity was much stronger and more ‘connected’ or ‘co-ordinated’ on the right side of the brain during navigation than simple locomotion. Areas of activity were distributed across the cortex, bilaterally. However, activation in the right-hemisphere was greater in the navigation condition than in the locomotion condition. These initial findings demonstrate the promise of MOST-EEG to provide new spatial information to the analysis of neural networks underlying complex cognitive states.

Poster Authors: Lee SA, Zeman PM, Skelton RW.

For more information about the conference, see: http://imp.uvic.ca/research/pacwest2010.php

Spread the word and help us make a huge difference in the world.

Tags: 3d videogame, brain activity, brain scan, MOST-EEG, Phil Zeman, Ron Skelton, Sharon Lee, Society for Neuroscience, spatial navigation, University of Victoria
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