An EEG Source Reconstruction Method Accounting for Ascending Sympathovagal Activity: A Proof-of-Concept Study

Characterizing the causal relationship between central neural activity and peripheral physiological dynamics has become a key objective in computational neuroscience research. Despite advancements in models leveraging electroencephalography (EEG) for non-invasive brain-heart interplay estimation, the specific intracortical sources underlying this interaction remain poorly understood. This study introduces a novel methodological framework for investigating how peripheral neural control of heartbeat dynamics influences brain activity at the source reconstruction level. By integrating high-density (128-channel) EEG and ECG recordings, the proposed framework was validated using experimental data from 30 healthy subjects during a resting-state session. Experimental results compared a traditional EEG-based source reconstruction with an approach that incorporates a sympathovagal component into the brain source estimation. Findings demonstrated that accounting for heartbeat dynamics significantly alters source activation patterns, which align with current knowledge on central-autonomic networks and brain-heart interactions. The proposed method opens new avenues for research into the neural sources of brain-heart interplay.Clinical relevance: A wide range of physiological and pathological processes are influenced by functional brain-heart interplay. Identifying the spatial localization of the heart's influence on brain dynamics is crucial for effectively addressing related disorders.