Deciphering “ongoing” cognition using concurrent multimodal neuroimaging and continuous multitask paradigm

Saggar M, Howel A, Jahanikia S, Geniesse C, Sun Y .

Aims

Despite the recent focus to quantify the dynamics of FC patterns†, one of the biggest barriers in advancing this research is the lack of gold-standard neuroimaging data with known ground truth, regarding timing and nature of transitions during ongoing cognition. Here, we propose to address this knowledge gap by collecting multimodal (electroencephalogram (EEG) and fMRI) sub-second neuroimaging data while participants engage in a novel Continuous Multitask Experimental (CME) paradigm. Using behavioral performance at each trial and trial-by-trial time-locked variation in FC, the CME paradigm will allow us to directly examine the role of FC dynamics in ongoing adaptive cognition, thereby leading the way for developing clinically meaningful biomarkers.

Highlights

  • We have collected concurrent EEG-fMRI data from healthy participants
  • We explored changes in brain dynamics associated with task switches using Topological Data Analysis
  • Started developing preprocessing pipeline to clean EEG data

Presentations/Papers

  1. Geniesse, C., Chowdhury, S., Saggar, M. (2020). Entropy-based interactive exploration of brain dynamics at multiple scales during ongoing cognition. Organization of Human Brain Mapping (HBM), 2020, Montreal, Canada.

Next steps

  • Continue working on the preprocessing pipeline to clean EEG data
  • Port TDA-based methods developed for fMRI data to EEG data
  • Develop new methods to concurrently analyze manifolds created using EEG and fMRI data

Funding

A departmental innovator grant was awarded to M.S. for collected concurrent EEG-fMRI data.