All centres in the SINAPSE network have electroencephalography (EEG) facilities. EEG is a brain imaging technique that measures electrical activity produced by the working brain. EEG reveals changes in neural activity that occur as mental processing is carried out, and EEG can therefore be used to reveal changes in brain activity associated with all kinds of mental abilities (including language, attention, memory, sensation and perception).
EEG is also particularly sensitive temporally; it reflects the real-time electrical activity of neurons, and therefore provides much higher resolution information about the time course of changes in brain activity than can be achieved with many other brain imaging methods. Averaging the EEG triggered by a stimulus or action gives the event related potentials (ERPs).
In medical settings EEG is often used in diagnosing epilepsy, but can also be used to study a range of pathologies, including amnesia and schizophrenia. In psychological research EEG is also widely used to study basic cognitive abilities (particularly memory and attention) in order to gain a better understanding of the functional and neural basis of these complex higher-order mental faculties.
In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) the contrast in signal resulting from the change in balance between oxyhaemoglobin and deoxyhaemoglobin in the brain caused by the performance of a specific task is imaged, measured and analysed. This is used to study regional brain activation and is used in many neuro-imaging research projects.
Our work in fMRI aims to harmonize protocols, tools and methods across centres in order to run more efficient multicentre studies. All centres are now equipped with the same state of the art fMRI equipment allowing audio-visual stimulation. Current work allows us to measure and define brain maps, using the same paradigms including same design and scanning parameters. The expertise in our centres is also being pooled in order to create a common toolbox to measure different image parameters using a standardised methodology. Finally, methods are being developed in order to account for scanner differences, this will improve multicentre data pooling and analysis, a key development in multicentre trials. Specific work in Edinburgh is on brain classification methods which will be extended and tested across all our centres.
Our researchers in Edinburgh are collaborating with the Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging (CCNi) at the University of Glasgow, to develop methods that allow full space-time analyses of EEG data. These methods, via single trials linear modelling, will allow a better quantification of event related electrical activities, which ultimately will be incorporated into fMRI designs and analysis. Testing and applications will be carried out across the SINAPSE network (Dundee & Stirling) and in other universities worldwide.
St Andrews researchers investigate attention, specifically cognitive interference and conflict control, and sequential effects in speeded response time tasks. Research also covers the functional organisation of cortical motor structures involved in planning and control of voluntary movements as well as in developing new analysis methods for electrophysiological research.
In Dundee, the EEG research focuses on the dynamics of attention control. This research includes studies of the effects of neurological impairments and developmental abnormality on attention function (e.g. closed head injury, autism, and schizophrenia). Furthermore there are studies in the origin of sociality in humans by observing how newborn infants communicate from birth, using both psychophysiological methods and ethological analysis. There is a special interest in autism, as an example of abnormal development of sociality.
Across the SINAPSE network there is a strong research interest into memory and related neurological processes.
At the University of Stirling, researchers working in the Psychological Imaging Laboratory are investigating the relationship between EEG measures of memory and genes, as well as the relationship between conscious and unconscious memory processes. Whilst the topics under investigation are varied in nature, they share the use of EEG as a powerful method for human brain imaging. To find out more please visit www.pil.stir.ac.uk
The Memory Control Group at St Andrews utilises fMRI, EEG and behavioural approaches to elucidate the mechanisms underlying memory and attention. Specifically the group focuses on the role of executive processes in controlling retrieval from memory, how people suppress unwanted memories, and the role of such mechanisms in producing both unintentional and motivated forgetting. Research interests also include the cognitive and neural basis of conceptually focused selective attention, and semantic working memory. To find out more, please visit www.memorycontrol.net
Dundee researchers are investigating the biological bases of memory function, particularly with respect to ageing and individual differences.
In Dundee, The School of Psychology has a 64-channel (Neuroscan) and two 32-channel (Biosemi Active Two) EEG/EKG systems, one of the latter being dedicated to infant research. The laboratories in Dundee provide an environment in which healthy young as well as older and clinical populations can easily be tested. All laboratories also provide ample workstations for data analysis using a range of software packages (e.g. Brainvision, EEG-lab).
In St Andrews, the School of Psychology has an EEG laboratory equipped with a 72-channel Biosemi Active-Two Amplifier. ERTS is used for stimulus presentation and BESA, EEGlab, and Konstanz-Format software are all available for analysis.
In Stirling, the Department of Psychology hosts the Psychological Imaging Laboratory, which contains three 64-channel (Neuroscan and Contact Precision) EEG recording systems, with allied behavioural testing suites situated alongside (primarily using Eprime). The EEG facility is housed in a purpose built space, which includes electrode digitisation equipment and a set of ERP data processing and analysis work-stations (including Neuroscan and in-house software). The laboratory is also supported by technicians with expertise in electronics and electrophysiological techniques.
At the University of Aberdeen EEG and ERP are used in cognitive neuropsychology research, for example to study task-switching, and in normal ageing.
All our Imaging Centres have been equipped with fMRI compatible EEG from the same manufacturer. This facilitates comparison of data from multi-centre research trials.
