TY - JOUR T1 - Broadband spectral responses in visual cortex revealed by a new MEG denoising algorithm JF - bioRxiv DO - 10.1101/108993 SP - 108993 AU - Eline R. Kupers AU - Helena X. Wang AU - Kaoru Amano AU - Kendrick N. Kay AU - David J. Heeger AU - Jonathan Winawer Y1 - 2017/01/01 UR - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/02/15/108993.abstract N2 - Currently, non-invasive methods for studying the human brain do not reliably measure spike-rate-dependent signals, independent of other responses such as hemodynamic coupling (fMRI) and subthreshold neuronal synchrony (oscillations and event-related potentials). In contrast, invasive methods – animal microelectrode recordings and human electrocorticography (ECoG) – have recently measured broadband power elevation in field potentials (~50-200 Hz) as a proxy for the locally averaged spike rates. Here, we sought to detect and quantify stimulus-related broadband responses using magnetoencephalography (MEG) in individual subjects. Because extracranial measurements like MEG have multiple global noise sources and a relatively low signal-to-noise ratio, we developed an automated denoising technique, adapted from (Kay et al., 2013), that helps reveal the broadband signal of interest. Subjects viewed 12-Hz contrast-reversing patterns in the left, right, or bilateral visual field. Sensor time series were separated into an evoked component (12-Hz amplitude) and a broadband component (60–150 Hz, excluding stimulus harmonics). In all subjects, denoised broadband responses were reliably measured in sensors over occipital cortex. The spatial pattern of the broadband measure depended on the stimulus, with greater broadband power in sensors contralateral to the stimulus. Because we obtain reliable broadband estimates with relatively short experiments (~20 minutes), with a sufficient signal-to-noise-ratio to distinguish responses to different stimuli, we conclude that MEG broadband signals, denoised with our method, offer a practical, non-invasive means for characterizing spike-rate-dependent neural activity for a wide range of scientific questions about human brain function. ER -