What is the best way to turn EEG scans in to 3D images?

Question

I'm looking for the best way to turn standard EEG scans into 3D images of activity in the brain over the time of scanning, for example like the Glass Brain images or even connectome-style images.

I have experience of collecting EEG data and basic experience of EEG analysis using the SPM package for MATLAB, but this didn't include creating a 3D image.

Is there capability to create this using SPM or perhaps another add on or even other software entirely that I can access? Alternatively, does anyone know of any service which would do this for me? I work for for a technology company, not as part of a testing lab or affiliated to a university, so don't have access to these sorts of labs and expertise.

Answer 1

By 3D image, I assume that you want a projection of the topographic map onto a 3D model of the head. For an accurate resolution, you would need to have acquired the position of the EEG channels on the head as well as the shape of the participant's head. However, this kind of data is not often acquired.

The next best solution is to use an existing model of the channel position for your EEG system on a template head. The head plot function in EEGLAB can do that: http://sccn.ucsd.edu/eeglab/allfunctions/headplot.html

Transferring your files from SPM format to EEGLAB format should be quite straightforward. You can find solutions to this problem on both the EEGLAB and SPM mailing lists.