Immersive 3D Visualization of Multi-Modal Brain Connectivity

Abstract

In neuroscience, the investigation of connectivity between different brain regions suffers from the lack of adequate solutions for visualizing detected networks. One reason is the high number of dimensions that have to be combined within the same view: neuroscientists examine brain connectivity in its natural spatial context across the additional dimensions time and frequency. To combine all these dimensions without prior merging or filtering steps, we propose a visualization in virtual reality to realize multiple coordinated views of the networks in a virtual visual analysis lab. We implemented a prototype of the new idea. In a first qualitative user study we included experts in the field of computer science, psychology as well as neuroscience. Time series of electroencephalography recordings evoked by visual stimuli were used to provide a first proof of concept trial.The positive user feedback shows that our application successfully fills a gap in the visualization of high-dimensional brain networks.