magnetoencephalography

magnetoencephalography (MEG), imaging technique that measures the weak magnetic fields emitted by neurons. An array of cylinder-shaped sensors monitors the magnetic field pattern near the patient’s head to determine the position and strength of activity in various regions of the brain. In contrast with other imaging techniques, MEG can characterize rapidly changing patterns of neural activity—down to millisecond resolution—and can provide a quantitative measure of the strength of this activity in individual subjects. Moreover, by...