NUTMEG: a neuromagnetic source reconstruction toolbox.

Abstract

We have developed an analysis toolbox called NUTMEG (Neurodynamic Utility Toolbox for Magnetoencephalography) for reconstructing the spatiotemporal dynamics of neural activations and overlaying them onto structural MR images. The toolbox runs under MATLAB in conjunction with SPM2 and can be used with the Linux/UNIX, Mac OS X, and even Windows platforms. Currently, evoked magnetic field data from 4-D Neuroimaging, CTF, and KIT systems can be imported to the toolbox for analysis. NUTMEG uses an eigenspace vector beamforming algorithm to generate a tomographic reconstruction of spatiotemporal magnetic source activity over selected time intervals and spatial regions. The MEG coordinate frame is coregistered with an anatomical MR image using fiducial locations and, optionally, head shape information. This allows the reconstruction to be superimposed onto an MRI to provide a convenient visual correspondence to neuroanatomy. Navigating through the MR volume automatically updates the displayed time series of activation for the selected voxel. Animations can also be generated to view the evolution of neural activity over time. Since NUTMEG displays activations using SPM2's engine, certain SPM functions such as brain rendering and spatial normalization may be applied as well. Finally, as a MATLAB package, the end user can easily add customized functions. Source code is available at http://bil.ucsf.edu/ and distributed under a BSD-style license.