Division of Applied Mathematics
Brown University
February 23, 2001

Mapping the Human Brain

Monica K. Hurdal, Department of Mathematics, Florida State University

The human brain is a highly convoluted surface with many folds and fissures that vary considerably from person to person, making it difficult to compare functional activity across individuals. Most of the functional activity of the brain occurs on the surface, called the "grey matter". Visual stimuli elicit visual evoked scalp potentials (VEPs) which can be recorded from electrodes attached to the surface of the scalp. These VEPs are generated by current sources located in the brain. The location of these neural sources can be estimated when a a source is modeled as a dipole and the head is modeled as three concentric spherical shells representing the scalp, skull and neural tissue. I will present results using this model that illustrates the mapping between the visual field and visual cortex when a stimulus is presented in various positions in the visual field. I will also discuss a novel technique that I have developed which uses the Riemann Mapping Theorem and circle packings to create quasi-conformal flat maps of the surface of the brain. These maps can be produced in the Euclidean and hyperbolic planes and on a sphere. I will demonstrate how these maps are being used to elucidate new information about the human brain.


Updated February 2001.
Copyright 2001 by Monica K. Hurdal. All rights reserved.