Wearable MEG data recorded during human stepping

Spedden, M. E.; O'Neill, G. C.; West, T.; Tierney, T. M.; Mellor, S. J.; Alexander, N.; Seymour, R.; Lundbye-Jensen, J.; Nielsen, J. B.; Farmer, S.; Bestmann, S.; Barnes, G.

doi:10.1101/2025.02.11.637004

bioRxiv · 10.1101/2025.02.11.637004

Wearable MEG data recorded during human stepping

Spedden, M. E.·O'Neill, G. C.·West, T.·Tierney, T. M.·Mellor, S. J.·Alexander, N.·Seymour, R.·Lundbye-Jensen, J.·Nielsen, J. B.·Farmer, S.·Bestmann, S.·Barnes, G.

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Abstract

Non-invasive spatiotemporal imaging of brain activity during large-scale, whole body movement is a significant methodological challenge for the field of movement neuroscience. Here, we present a dataset recorded using a new imaging modality - optically-pumped magnetoencephalography (OP-MEG) - to record brain activity during human stepping. Participants (n=3) performed a visually guided stepping task requiring precise foot placement while dual-axis and triaxial OP-MEG and leg muscle activity (electromyography, EMG) were recorded. The dataset also includes a structural MRI for each participant and foot kinematics. We validate the fidelity of the OPM data by showing movement-related beta band desynchronization source localised to the primary motor cortex. This multimodal dataset offers a resource for methodological development and testing for OPM data (e.g., movement-related interference rejection), within-subject analyses, and exploratory analyses to generate hypotheses for further work on the neural control of human stepping.

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Spedden, M. E., O'Neill, G. C., West, T., Tierney, T. M., Mellor, S. J., Alexander, N., Seymour, R., Lundbye-Jensen, J., Nielsen, J. B., Farmer, S., Bestmann, S., Barnes, G.. 2025-02-12. Wearable MEG data recorded during human stepping. https://doi.org/10.1101/2025.02.11.637004

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