A guide to peripheral physiology measurement using the BrainAmp ExG MR – Part 3: Sensor tutorial, a new chapter for correct use in the MR environment

Peripheral physiology can add valuable information to fMRI and EEG signal analyses. Whether the goal is to rule out the contribution of physiological noise to the neural signal or to understand how physiological responses correlate with neural activity, our sensors facilitate measuring the coupling between the brain, physiological signals, and behavior. For example, fluctuations in the autonomic nervous system correlate with both fluctuations in the BOLD signal and oscillatory EEG activity (Yuan et al 2013, Iacovella 2011, Rassi et al. 2019; Sihn and Kim 2022). Physiological measures such as galvanic skin response (GSR) or changes in respiration rate can be used to easily identify levels of arousal and changes within the autonomic nervous system.

They can also be used to identify the neural and non-neuronal components of the BOLD signal by measuring the level of physiological noise that contributes to the BOLD signaling including cardiac and respiratory sources. Our scalable BrainAmp MR system allows peripheral physiology measurements to be incorporated easily with EEG recordings in BrainVision Recorder with the addition of a BrainAmp ExG MR. In addition, the SyncBox ensures simultaneous recording of BOLD, EEG, and peripheral physiology measurements, which allows for direct comparison between all three signal types.

Our Application Specialist EEG-fMRI, Cilia Jäger, PhD, and Dr. Stefania Geraci, a member of the Technical Support team, present here, as the third chapter of our series of support tips, the new section of the well-known Sensor Tutorial: the “MR Sensors”. This section of the tutorial will guide you through the correct and safe use of the most commonly used sensors for peripheral physiology measurements in MR scanners with static field strength up to 3 Tesla.

If you need further help on sensor application or signal analysis, please feel free to contact either the Brain Products Technical Support Team or Scientific Support Team. We are happy to provide you with more information and answer all remaining questions you may have.