Abstract
AbstractCharacterizing the early development of the human brain is critical from both fundamental and clinical perspectives. However, existing neuroimaging techniques are either not well suited to infants or have limited spatial or temporal resolution. The recent advent of optically pumped magnetometers (OPMs) has revolutionized magnetoencephalography (MEG) by enabling wearable and thus naturalistic recordings while maintaining excellent sensitivity and spatiotemporal resolution. Nevertheless, its adaptation to study brain activity in infancy poses several challenges. We present an OPM-MEG setup that successfully recorded auditory evoked responses and oddball steady-state responses reflecting auditory change detection in a group of typically developing one-month-old newborns. We thereby demonstrate the applicability of the OPM-MEG system to study early postnatal periods. These results are crucial for future OPM investigations of typical and pathological early brain development.
Publisher
Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory