Neuroimaging Field Methods Using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (NIRS) Neuroimaging to Study Global Child Development: Rural Sub-Saharan Africa

Summary

Portable neuroimaging approaches (functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy) provide advances to the study of the brain in previously inaccessible regions; here, rural Côte d'Ivoire. Innovation in methods and development of culturally-appropriate neuroimaging protocols permits novel study of the brain's development and children's learning outcomes in environments with significant poverty and adversity.

Abstract

Portable neuroimaging approaches provide new advances to the study of brain function and brain development with previously inaccessible populations and in remote locations. This paper shows the development of field functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) imaging to the study of child language, reading, and cognitive development in a rural village setting of Côte d'Ivoire. Innovation in methods and the development of culturally appropriate neuroimaging protocols allow a first-time look into the brain's development and children's learning outcomes in understudied environments. This paper demonstrates protocols for transporting and setting up a mobile laboratory, discusses considerations for field versus laboratory neuroimaging, and presents a guide for developing neuroimaging consent procedures and building meaningful long-term collaborations with local government and science partners. Portable neuroimaging methods can be used to study complex child development contexts, including the impact of significant poverty and adversity on brain development. The protocol presented here has been developed for use in Côte d'Ivoire, the world's primary source of cocoa, and where reports of child labor in the cocoa sector are common. Yet, little is known about the impact of child labor on brain development and learning. Field neuroimaging methods have the potential to yield new insights into such urgent issues, and the development of children globally.

Introduction

Portable fNIRS imaging provides the ability to study brain function and development outside the laboratory, in previously inaccessible settings or with understudied populations. Much of the knowledge in the domain of cognitive neuroscience comes from imaging studies conducted in university or hospital laboratory settings, in predominantly Western countries. By design, this contributes to a seldom-spoken-of problem in research: much of what is known about the brain is based on studies with participants for whom laboratory settings in (mostly) Western countries are accessible. That is, most neuroimaging research involves participants who live in reasonable proximity to ....

Protocol

All methods described here have been approved by the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University of Delaware.

1. Mobile Laboratory Transport and Setup

1. Traveling with the fNIRS equipment
   1. Transport fNIRS equipment.
      NOTE: fNIRS equipment can be transported as checked-luggage on a major international airline, but it is imperative to confirm with the given airline. Equipment restrictions may vary by origin or destination country. Alternatively, fNIRS equipment can be shipped.
   2. Know the procedures for importing or traveling with fNIRS equipment for the destination country, and if app....

Results

Probe position data obtained by the 3D digitizer (Figure 2) can be visualized on a standard brain template. Register fNIRS channels to MNI space using NIRS-SPM's stand-alone registration function²⁵. The spatial registration function generates MNI coordinates, anatomical labels, and Brodmann areas maximally represented by each channel.

Discussion

This paper presented a field neuroimaging protocol suitable for low-resource contexts in remote locations. The key advance of this field neuroimaging protocol is the first-time ability to study brain function and its development in understudied (or never-before studied) contexts. Critical steps in this protocol include traveling with and setting up a mobile laboratory suitable for quality data collection in tropical climates without electricity or available facilities. This protocol provides a general guide to forming st.......

Materials

List of materials used in this article

Name	Company	Catalog Number	Comments
LIGHTNIRS Main Unit Pack 120V	Shimadzu	292-34000-42	Component of the fNIRS system
HOLDER ASSY, ALL- CAP	Shimadzu	594-07618-01	Component of the fNIRS system
LIGHTNIRS connection cable	Shimadzu	567-10976-11	fNIRS system component
Fiber set for LIGHTNIRS, 1m (8 sets)	Shimadzu	567-11350-01	fNIRS system component
Dell Latitude Laptop	Shimadzu (from Dell)	220-97322-00	Master computer to run fNIRS applications
PATRIOT SEU (System Electronics Unit)	POLHEMUS	1A0453-001	PATRIOT System component
Power Supply	POLHEMUS	2C0809	PATRIOT System component
Power Supply cord	POLHEMUS	17500B-BLK	PATRIOT System component
RS-232 null modem cable	POLHEMUS	1C0288	PATRIOT System component
USB cable	POLHEMUS	1C0289	PATRIOT System component
RX2 Sensor 10' cable	POLHEMUS	4A0492-20	PATRIOT System component
TX2 Source 10' cable	POLHEMUS	4A0506-20	PATRIOT System component