Influence of skull modelling on conductivity estimation for EEG source analysis

International audienceThe skull conductivity strongly influences the accuracy of EEG source localization methods. As the conductivity of the skull has strong inter-individual variability, conductivity estimation techniques are required. Typically, conductivity estimation is performed on data from a single event-related stimulation paradigm, which can be explained by one dipole source. A conductivity value for the skull can be estimated as the value for which the single dipole source provides the best goodness of fit to the data. This conductivity value is then used to analyse the actual data of interest. It is known that the optimal local skull conductivity when modelling the skull as one compartment depends on the amount of spongiosa present locally. The research question arising is: Is conductivity estimation based on data from a single paradigm meaningful without accounting for the internal skull structure