PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Chin-Hsuan Lin
AU  - Tim M Tierney
AU  - Niall Holmes
AU  - Elena Boto
AU  - James Leggett
AU  - Sven Bestmann
AU  - Richard Bowtell
AU  - Matthew J Brookes
AU  - R Chris Miall
AU  - Gareth R Barnes
TI  - Using optically-pumped magnetometers to measure magnetoencephalographic signals in the human cerebellum
AID  - 10.1101/425447
DP  - 2018 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 425447
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/09/26/425447.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2018/09/26/425447.full
AB  - We test the feasibility of an optically pumped magnetometer (OPM)-MEG system for the measurement of human cerebellar activity. We show that the OPM system allows for excellent coverage of this structure by decreasing the average sensor-to-cerebellum distance by around 33% (16mm), compared to a standard MEG helmet. This closer proximity to the cerebellum approximately doubles the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). As a proof of principle, we used an air-puff stimulus to the eyeball in order to elicit cerebellar evoked and induced responses that are well characterized in non-human models. In three subjects, we observed an evoked component at 50ms post stimulus, which originates in the cerebellum (predominantly ipsilateral). This response was followed by a second component at 100ms post stimulus (predominantly contra-lateral). Sensory stimulation also elicited an event-related broadband spectral power change in the ipsilateral cerebellum at ~100ms in all subjects. We conclude that the OPM-MEG technology offers a promising way to advance the understanding of the information processing mechanisms in the human cerebellum.