Hemodynamic correlates of EEG: A heuristic

In this note we describe a heuristic, starting with a dimensional analysis, which relates hemodynamic changes to the spectral profile of ongoing EEG activity. In brief, this analysis suggests that ‘activation’, as indexed by increases in hemodynamic signals, should be associated with a loss of power in lower EEG frequencies, relative to higher frequencies. The fact that activation is expressed in terms of frequency (i.e., per second) is consistent with a dimensional analysis in the sense that activations reflect the rate of energy dissipation (per second). In this heuristic, activation causes an acceleration of temporal dynamics leading to (i) increased energy dissipation; (ii) decreased effective membrane time constants; (iii) increased effective coupling among neuronal ensembles; and (iv) a shift in the EEG spectral profile to higher frequencies. These predictions are consistent with empirical observations of how changes in the EEG spectrum are expressed hemodynamically. Furthermore, the heuristic provides a simple measure of neuronal activation based on spectral analyses of EEG.