Can the synchronization of cortical areas be evidenced by fMRI?

The goal of this study is to investigate the possibility of analyzing spati o-temporal organization of the human cortical activity during different com plex tasks, by means of fMRI. To evidence cortical areas synchronization we propose a computational approach based on a self-organizing neural network s ("neural gas") that detects time-dependent alterations in the regional in tensity of the functional signal. Results of the application of such approa ch are reported and are compared with the results obtained with a standard statistical package (SPM96). Future experimental investigations will be aim ed at the analysis of spatio-temporal structures of cortical activity in pa thological conditions, such as epilepsy. (C) 1999 Published by Elsevier Sci ence B.V. All rights reserved.