Functional localization of bilateral auditory cortices using an MRI-linked whole head magnetoencephalography (MEG) system

In 20 healthy subjects, auditory evoked magnetic fields were measured over the entire head, using a helmet-shaped 66-channel MEG system linked to MRI. When the left or right ear was stimulated by 60 msec 2 kHz tones, the prominent 100 msec response (N100m) appeared significantly earlier in the contralateral hemisphere than in the ipsilateral one. In 16 cases, the N100m dipolar field patterns were clear in both hemispheres, overlapping each other across the midline. The N100m sources were estimated using a 2-dipole model in a spherical conducting medium with the size and location of the sphere determined individually according to the MRI images. No differences were found between the contralateral and ipsilateral N100m dipole positions in one hemisphere. When superimposed on MRI, the N100m dipoles were located precisely on the upper surface of bilateral temporal lobes with a standard deviation of 2.2 mm in the superior-inferior direction. In 16 right handed males, the right hemispheric N100m dipoles were 6 mm anterior to the left hemispheric dipoles. The whole head MEG is suitable to see small but significant differences of bilateral cerebral function, with exceptionally high spatial resolution, confirmed by the MRI-linked system.