MEG (Magnetoencephalography) is a neuroimaging technology for cognitive and clinical brain research. In a nutshell, MEG measures non-invasively the tiny magnetic fields generated by neuronal currents. A unique asset of MEG imaging is its unrivaled temporal resolution, reaching the millisecond time scale across the entire brain volume. On the clinical side, MEG has been typically indicated for the
pre-surgical work-up of severe, drug-resistant epilepsy and the functional pre-surgical mapping of brain tumors. There is however great potential to use MEG as an instrument of choice to investigate other neurological syndromes and neuropsychiatric disorders (e.g., stroke, dementia, movement disorders, depression, etc.). Overall, MEG has strong value in revealing the dynamics of brain activity involved in subject’s perception, cognition and responses: it has provided unique insight on the time-resolved processes ruling brain functions (resting-state dynamics, language, motor control, visual and auditory perception, etc.) and dysfunctions (movement disorders, tinnitus, chronic pain, dementia, etc.). The MEG community is constantly contributing new methods and improving software tools to make the technique more accessible to a wider range of investigators.
