Note that this reference documentation is identical to the help that is displayed in MATLAB when you type “help ft_prepare_sourcemodel”.

  FT_PREPARE_SOURCEMODEL constructs a source model, for example a 3D grid or a
  cortical sheet. The source model that can be used for source reconstruction,
  beamformer scanning, linear estimation and MEG interpolation.
 
  Use as
    grid = ft_prepare_sourcemodel(cfg)
 
  where the configuration structure contains the details on how the source
  model should be constructed.
 
  A source model can be constructed based on
    - regular 3D grid with explicit specification
    - regular 3D grid with specification of the resolution
    - regular 3D grid, based on segmented MRI, restricted to gray matter
    - regular 3D grid, based on a warped template grid, based on the MNI brain
    - surface grid based on the brain surface from the volume conduction model
    - surface grid based on the head surface from an external file
    - cortical sheet that was created in MNE or Freesurfer
    - using user-supplied grid positions, which can be regular or irregular
  The approach that will be used depends on the configuration options that
  you specify.
 
  Configuration options for generating a regular 3D grid
    cfg.grid.xgrid      = vector (e.g. -20:1:20) or 'auto' (default = 'auto')
    cfg.grid.ygrid      = vector (e.g. -20:1:20) or 'auto' (default = 'auto')
    cfg.grid.zgrid      = vector (e.g.   0:1:20) or 'auto' (default = 'auto')
    cfg.grid.resolution = number (e.g. 1 cm) for automatic grid generation
 
  Configuration options for a predefined grid
    cfg.grid.pos        = N*3 matrix with position of each source
    cfg.grid.inside     = N*1 vector with boolean value whether grid point is inside brain (optional)
    cfg.grid.dim        = [Nx Ny Nz] vector with dimensions in case of 3D grid (optional)
 
  The following fields are not used in this function, but will be copied along to the output
    cfg.grid.leadfield
    cfg.grid.filter or alternatively cfg.grid.avg.filter
    cfg.grid.subspace
    cfg.grid.lbex
 
  Configuration options for a warped MNI grid
    cfg.mri             = can be filename or MRI structure, containing the individual anatomy
    cfg.grid.warpmni    = 'yes'
    cfg.grid.resolution = number (e.g. 6) of the resolution of the
                          template MNI grid, defined in mm
    cfg.grid.template   = specification of a template grid (grid structure), or a
                          filename of a template grid (defined in MNI space),
                          either cfg.grid.resolution or cfg.grid.template needs
                          to be defined. If both are defined cfg.grid.template
                          prevails
    cfg.grid.nonlinear  = 'no' (or 'yes'), use non-linear normalization
 
  Configuration options for cortex segmentation, i.e. for placing dipoles in grey matter
    cfg.mri           = can be filename, MRI structure or segmented MRI structure
    cfg.threshold     = 0.1, relative to the maximum value in the segmentation
    cfg.smooth        = 5, smoothing in voxels
 
  Configuration options for reading a cortical sheet from file
    cfg.headshape     = string, should be a *.fif file
 
  The EEG or MEG sensor positions can be present in the data or can be specified as
    cfg.elec          = structure with electrode positions, see FT_DATATYPE_SENS
    cfg.grad          = structure with gradiometer definition, see FT_DATATYPE_SENS
  or alternatively
    cfg.elecfile      = name of file containing the electrode positions, see FT_READ_SENS
    cfg.gradfile      = name of file containing the gradiometer definition, see FT_READ_SENS
 
  The headmodel or volume conduction model can be specified as
    cfg.headmodel       = structure with volume conduction model, see FT_PREPARE_HEADMODEL
 
  Other configuration options
    cfg.grid.unit       = string, can be 'mm', 'cm', 'm' (default is automatic)
    cfg.grid.tight   = 'yes' or 'no' (default is automatic)
    cfg.inwardshift  = number, how much should the innermost surface be moved inward to constrain
                       sources to be considered inside the source compartment (default = 0)
    cfg.moveinward   = number, move dipoles inward to ensure a certain distance to the innermost
                       surface of the source compartment (default = 0)
    cfg.spherify     = 'yes' or 'no', scale the source model so that it fits inside a sperical
                       volume conduction model (default = 'no')
    cfg.symmetry     = 'x', 'y' or 'z' symmetry for two dipoles, can be empty (default = [])
    cfg.headshape    = a filename for the headshape, a structure containing a single surface,
                       or a Nx3 matrix with headshape surface points (default = [])
    cfg.spmversion   = string, 'spm2', 'spm8', 'spm12' (default = 'spm8')
 
  See also FT_PREPARE_LEADFIELD, FT_PREPARE_HEADMODEL, FT_SOURCEANALYSIS,
  FT_DIPOLEFITTING, FT_MEGREALIGN