<p>It seems I misunderstood how the outputs may be viewed from an MEG.</p>
<p>Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive test, which:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>measures the magnetic fields generated by electric currents in the brain. The magnetic field measurements are in the range of femto-tesla to pico-tesla. MEG provides a very accurate resolution of the timing of neuronal activity (<a href="https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.128676" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Singh, 2014</a>).</p>
</blockquote>
<p>A copyrighted image of an MEG recording can be viewed in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4001219/figure/F3/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Figure 3</a> of Singh (2014) and looks very different to a normal EEG with a typical montage, which can be viewed in <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/figure/f01/?report=objectonly" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Figure 1</a> within <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Louis, et al. (2016)</a>.</p>
<h2>References</h2>
<p>Louis, E. K. S., Frey, L. C., Britton, J. W., Hopp, J. L., Korb, P., Koubeissi, M. Z., ... &amp; Pestana-Knight, E. M. (2016). The normal eeg. Electroencephalography (EEG): An Introductory Text and Atlas of Normal and Abnormal Findings in Adults, Children, and Infants [Internet]. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/</a></p>
<p>Singh S. P. (2014). Magnetoencephalography: Basic principles. <em>Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 17</em>(Suppl 1), S107–S112. <a href="https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.128676" rel="nofollow noreferrer">https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.128676</a></p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2021-02-22T12:58:35.733Z
2021-02-22T12:58:35.733Z
Chris Rogers
<p>Reading the <a href="https://psychology.stackexchange.com/a/15223/7604">excellent clear answer from @RobinKramer</a> to <a href="https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/15222/are-brain-waves-electromagnetic-waves">Are brain waves electromagnetic waves?</a> I have become very interested in the mechanisms behind the measurement techniques using EEG and MEG.</p>
<p>From the answer, I understand that an EEG measures the action potentials within a neuron from one end to the other and a MEG measures the magnetic field generated by the action potentials. What I am wondering is; generally speaking, will the waveform outputs from each measuring device mirror each other in frequency and µV scales or are they different?</p>

<eeg><electrophysiology><brain-waves><meg>
Difference in MEG and EEG readings
Chris Rogers
# Difference in MEG and EEG readings

(Asked by: username_0 on 2021-02-22)

Reading the [excellent clear answer from @RobinKramer](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/a/15223/7604) to [Are brain waves electromagnetic waves?](https://psychology.stackexchange.com/questions/15222/are-brain-waves-electromagnetic-waves) I have become very interested in the mechanisms behind the measurement techniques using EEG and MEG.

From the answer, I understand that an EEG measures the action potentials within a neuron from one end to the other and a MEG measures the magnetic field generated by the action potentials. What I am wondering is; generally speaking, will the waveform outputs from each measuring device mirror each other in frequency and µV scales or are they different?

**Tags:** eeg, electrophysiology, brain-waves, meg


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2021-02-22. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

It seems I misunderstood how the outputs may be viewed from an MEG.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is a non-invasive test, which:

> measures the magnetic fields generated by electric currents in the brain. The magnetic field measurements are in the range of femto-tesla to pico-tesla. MEG provides a very accurate resolution of the timing of neuronal activity ([Singh, 2014](https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.128676)).

A copyrighted image of an MEG recording can be viewed in [Figure 3](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4001219/figure/F3/) of Singh (2014) and looks very different to a normal EEG with a typical montage, which can be viewed in [Figure 1](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/figure/f01/?report=objectonly) within [Louis, et al. (2016)](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/).

## References

Louis, E. K. S., Frey, L. C., Britton, J. W., Hopp, J. L., Korb, P., Koubeissi, M. Z., ... & Pestana-Knight, E. M. (2016). The normal eeg. Electroencephalography (EEG): An Introductory Text and Atlas of Normal and Abnormal Findings in Adults, Children, and Infants [Internet]. <https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK390346/>

Singh S. P. (2014). Magnetoencephalography: Basic principles. *Annals of Indian Academy of Neurology, 17*(Suppl 1), S107–S112. <https://doi.org/10.4103/0972-2327.128676>


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