Functional Near-infrared Neuroimaging

Conference Proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conference. , 2004  |  Pubmed ID: 17271546

Functional near-infrared (fNIR) spectroscopy is a wearable neuroimaging device that enables the continuous, non-invasive, and portable monitoring of changes in blood oxygen and blood volume related to human brain function. Over the last three years, studies in the laboratory and under field conditions have established the positive correlation between a participant's performance and oxygenation responses as a function of task load. Our findings indicate that fNIR can effectively monitor attention and working memory in real-life situations. These experimental outcomes compare favorably with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, and in particular, with the blood oxygenation level dependent (BOLD) signal. The capacity to monitor brain hemodynamics with a wearable device holds promise for the use of fNIR in the creation of a symbiotic relationship between the user and his/her everyday environment. Moreover, under operational conditions, the fNIR system is amenable to integration with other established physiological and neurobehavioral measures, including EEG, eye tracking, pupil reflex, heart rate variability, respiration and electrodermal activity.

Functional Near-infrared Neuroimaging

IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering : a Publication of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Jun, 2005  |  Pubmed ID: 16003893

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) is a neroimaging modality that enables continuous, noninvasive, and portable monitoring of changes in blood oxygenation and blood volume related to human brain function. Over the last decade, studies in the laboratory have established that fNIR spectroscopy provides a veridical measure of oxygenation and blood flow in the brain. Our recent findings indicate that fNIR can effectively monitor cognitive tasks such as attention, working memory, target categorization, and problem solving. These experimental outcomes compare favorably with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, and in particular, with the blood oxygenation level dependent signal. Since fNIR can be implemented in the form of a wearable and minimally intrusive device, it has the capacity to monitor brain activity under real life conditions and in everyday environments. Moreover, the fNIR system is amenable to integration with other established physiological and neurobehavioral measures, including electroencephalogram, eye tracking, pupil reflex, heart rate variability, respiration, and electrodermal activity.

Differential Time Course and Intensity of PFC Activation for Men and Women in Response to Emotional Stimuli: a Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Study

Neuroscience Letters. Jul, 2006  |  Pubmed ID: 16716510

Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) we recorded prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during positive, negative and neutral film clips, based on affective ratings according to their valence and arousal, to assess gender differences in cerebral activation in 15 male and 15 female volunteers. To record PFC activation, five movie clips were presented on a 17-in. TFT screen. The recordings included a pre-stimulus 5-s local baseline and "on" and "off" segments of data, referring to fNIRS Oxy-Hb levels while stimulation (movie clip) was present and during an inter-stimulus blank screen. Our data showed gender differences in the delay period to initial PFC activation and in the course and intensity of activation produced by affective visual stimuli. During the exposure or "on" period of the stimuli we observed more pronounced overshoot and undershoot in men versus women across the range of emotions elicited. This effect was even more pronounced following stimulus cessation ("off" period). The results indicate that gender and the duration of recordings may affect the results of emotional neuroimaging studies.

Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine : the Quarterly Magazine of the Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society. Jul-Aug, 2006  |  Pubmed ID: 16898659

Registering FNIR Data to Brain Surface Image Using MRI Templates

Conference Proceedings : ... Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Conference. , 2006  |  Pubmed ID: 17946973

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) measures changes in the relative levels of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin and has increasingly been used to assess neural functioning in the brain. In addition to the ongoing technological developments, investigators have also been conducting studies on functional mapping and refinement of data analytic strategies in order to better understand the relationship between the fNIR signal and brain activity. However, since fNIR is a relatively new functional brain imaging modality as compared to positron emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), it still lacks brain-mapping tools designed to allow researchers and clinicians to easily interact with their data. The aim of this study is to develop a registration technique for the fNIR measurements using anatomical landmarks and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) templates in order to visualize the brain activation when and where it happens. The proposed registration technique utilizes chain-code algorithm and depicts activations over respective locations based on sensor geometry. Furthermore, registered data locations have been used to create spatiotemporal visualization of fNIR measurements.

Does Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) Activation Return to Baseline when Sexual Stimuli Cease? The Role of DLPFC in Visual Sexual Stimulation

Neuroscience Letters. Apr, 2007  |  Pubmed ID: 17316990

A fundamental question in human sexuality regards the neural substrate underlying sexually-arousing representations. Lesion and neuroimaging studies suggest that dorsolateral pre-frontal cortex (DLPFC) plays an important role in regulating the processing of visual sexual stimulation. The aim of this Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) study was to explore DLPFC structures involved in the processing of erotic and non-sexual films. fNIRS was used to image the evoked-cerebral blood oxygenation (CBO) response in 15 male and 15 female subjects. Our hypothesis is that a sexual stimulus would produce DLPFC activation during the period of direct stimulus perception ("on" period), and that this activation would continue after stimulus cessation ("off" period). A new paradigm was used to measure the relative oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) concentrations in DLPFC while subjects viewed the two selected stimuli (Roman orgy and a non-sexual film clip), and also immediately following stimulus cessation. Viewing of the non-sexual stimulus produced no overshoot in DLPFC, whereas exposure to the erotic stimulus produced rapidly ascendant overshoot, which became even more pronounced following stimulus cessation. We also report on gender differences in the timing and intensity of DLPFC activation in response to a sexually explicit visual stimulus. We found evidence indicating that men experience greater and more rapid sexual arousal when exposed to erotic stimuli than do women. Our results point out that self-regulation of DLPFC activation is modulated by subjective arousal and that cognitive appraisal of the sexual stimulus (valence) plays a secondary role in this regulation.

A Lasting Post-stimulus Activation on Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex is Produced when Processing Valence and Arousal in Visual Affective Stimuli

Neuroscience Letters. Jul, 2007  |  Pubmed ID: 17601668

This paper introduces a new paradigm in the study of emotional processes through functional neuroimaging. We study whether the valence and arousal of visual stimuli influence neuroimaging of the evoked hemodynamic changes. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we investigate evoked-cerebral blood oxygenation (CBO) changes in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during direct exposure to different emotion-eliciting stimuli ('on' period), and during the period directly following stimulus cessation ('off' period). We hypothesize that the evoked-CBO, rather than return to baseline after stimulus cessation, would show either overshoot or undershoot. The study includes 30 healthy subjects and a total of 9 stimuli, which consist of video-clips with different emotional content. The total sample of trials studied (270) is classified according to the valence and arousal ratings given by the subjects. Results show a more robust activation in DLPFC during the 'off' period than during the 'on' period, depending on the subjective degree of arousal given to the stimulus. Our findings provide the first fNIRS evidence showing that an increment in subjective arousal leads to activation in DLPFC which persists after stimulus cessation and this does not occur with non-arousing stimuli. Neuroimaging studies must consider the duration and affective dimensions of the stimulus as well as the duration of the scanning to specify how much of the recorded response is analyzed. Not accounting for this difference may contribute to confusion in the data interpretation.

Functional Brain Imaging Using Near-infrared Technology

IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Magazine : the Quarterly Magazine of the Engineering in Medicine & Biology Society. Jul-Aug, 2007  |  Pubmed ID: 17672230

Efficient Learning Produces Spontaneous Neural Repetition Suppression in Prefrontal Cortex

Behavioural Brain Research. Apr, 2010  |  Pubmed ID: 20045712

Our study focuses on the physiological effects of repetition on learning and working memory using an adaptation of Luria's Memory Word-Task (LMWT). We assess the hemodynamic response in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of 13 healthy subjects while completing LMWT. Free word recalls were acquired at the beginning, middle and end of the task. Behavioral results showed that all subjects could recall the complete word list by the 10th trial, which was considered as successful task accomplishment. We observed an attenuation of stimulus-evoked neural activity in prefrontal neurons. Our findings show that the temporal integration of efficient verbal learning is mediated by a mechanism known as neural repetition suppression (NRS). This mechanism facilitates cortical deactivation in DLPFC once learning is successfully completed. This cortical reorganization is interpreted as a progressive optimization of neural responses to produce a more efficient use of neural circuits. NRS could be considered one of the natural mechanisms involved in the processes of memory learning.

FNIRS Study of Walking and Walking While Talking in Young and Old Individuals

The Journals of Gerontology. Series A, Biological Sciences and Medical Sciences. Aug, 2011  |  Pubmed ID: 21593013

Evidence suggests that gait is influenced by higher order cognitive and cortical control mechanisms. However, less is known about the functional correlates of cortical control of gait.

Optical Brain Monitoring for Operator Training and Mental Workload Assessment

NeuroImage. Jan, 2012  |  Pubmed ID: 21722738

An accurate measure of mental workload in human operators is a critical element of monitoring and adaptive aiding systems that are designed to improve the efficiency and safety of human-machine systems during critical tasks. Functional near infrared (fNIR) spectroscopy is a field-deployable non-invasive optical brain monitoring technology that provides a measure of cerebral hemodynamics within the prefrontal cortex in response to sensory, motor, or cognitive activation. In this paper, we provide evidence from two studies that fNIR can be used in ecologically valid environments to assess the: 1) mental workload of operators performing standardized (n-back) and complex cognitive tasks (air traffic control--ATC), and 2) development of expertise during practice of complex cognitive and visuomotor tasks (piloting unmanned air vehicles--UAV). Results indicate that fNIR measures are sensitive to mental task load and practice level, and provide evidence of the fNIR deployment in the field for its ability to monitor hemodynamic changes that are associated with relative cognitive workload changes of operators. The methods reported here provide guidance for the development of strategic requirements necessary for the design of complex human-machine interface systems and assist with assessments of human operator performance criteria.

Frontal Lobe Role in Simple Arithmetic Calculations: An FNIR Study

Neuroscience Letters. Feb, 2012  |  Pubmed ID: 22260794

This study aimed to affirm the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIR) in examining frontal lobe role during automatic (i.e., requires retrieval from long-term memory) and method-based (i.e., requires calculation) arithmetic processing. Adult university students (math difficulties [MD] and control) performed simple arithmetic calculations while monitored using an fNIR system designed to image regions within the frontal cortices. Addition and subtraction problems presented on a computer screen belonged to one of three categories: triples "under 10" (e.g., 2+3=?, 5-3=?), triples that "break 10" (e.g., 5+8=?, 13-5=?), or triples "including 10" (e.g., 10+7=?, 17-10=?). fNIR recordings indicated significant interactions between type of triple, operation, and group over left frontal lobe, and between type of triple and group over right frontal lobe. Within-group differences among controls were found in the "break 10" triples with higher DeOxyHb level recorded during subtraction processing. Between-group differences were found in the "break 10" and "including 10" triples for subtraction with higher levels of DeOxyHb recorded among controls. Results imply that among adults frontal lobe is still involved during simple mathematical processing and fNIR recordings can differentiate its role in adults of varying mathematical ability.