Home » Posts tagged 'sfNIRS2024'
Tag Archives: sfNIRS2024
Fr-013-Investigating the Neural Bases of Language Processing During a Live Social Interaction: A fNIRS Study of Neurotypical and Autistic Children
The present study examined the neural bases of language processing during a live social interaction in 20 neurotypical (NT) and 20 autistic (ASD) children, 3 to 6 years old. fNIRS was used to measure children’s brain response during a live language condition (listened to story read by live experimenter) and a recorded language condition (listened to story played via audio recording). We found group differences in brain response to live language and recorded language, as well as associations between children’s brain response and their language skills. Findings may help to explain why ASD children experience challenges using and understanding language. Continue reading
Fr-027-Evaluating Statistical Learning with Qualitative Regressors: A GLM Methodology for HD-DOT Data
The brain uses environmental sensory inputs to make predictions about future events, a process known as statistical learning. Since prediction confidence is a measure of the likelihood of prediction accuracy, it may modulate the brain’s response to prediction-making. To explore this, we collected high-density diffuse optical tomography data from twenty participants tasked with playing a stock market prediction game. A general linear model was used to fit a linear combination of haemodynamic and qualitative regressors to the task-related responses. Preliminary results suggest that both prediction error and confidence regressors modulate prefrontal cortex activity differently. Continue reading
Fr-005-Repetitive head impacts in Para sports alter brain oxygenation patterns
Para swimmers with limb deficiency are faced with the situation that they must use their head to finish each competition by a hit to the wall. Repetitive head impacts may impair behavioral and brain functions. We therefore investigated neurobehavioral functions of a Para swimmer with dysmelia before and after repetitive head impacts (T1) and without (T2). Behavioral and brain functions decreased from pre to post at T1 but not at T2. Para swimmers with limb deficiency are therefore affected from similar consequences onto brain health that are observed after repeated sport-related concussions. Continue reading
Fr-006-The Utility of fNIRS for Evaluating Human Voice Acoustics for Stress Management
This study examined the utility of fNIRS in assessing soothing-voice-facilitated mental stress recovery. For this purpose, we measured the prefrontal cortex activity of 35 participants during a stress task and its recovery phase. We used a soothing voice intervention during experimental group recovery. Two control groups received a flat, robotic voice or silence to distinguish the effects of voice stimulation from attention shifts to irrelevant sounds. Measurements of fNIRS and salivary cortisol showed that stress markers dropped faster in the presence of a natural, soothing voice compared to both controls. Continue reading
Fr-071-Simultaneous broadband NIRS and EEG to characterise social brain specialisation in infants
Our current comprehension of functional specialisation in infants is limited to insights of either spatial or temporal neural activation. We propose that functional specialisation is underpinned by coordinated physiological responses as part of the neurovascular coupling (NVC) pathway. To investigate this, we used broadband NIRS (bNIRS) simultaneously with EEG to measure neural activity alongside haemodynamic and metabolic changes in 4-to-7-month-old infants, in response to social and non-social stimuli. We demonstrated task- and frequency-dependent coupling between neural oscillatory activity, haemodynamics and metabolism. Development of simultaneous multi-modal neuroimaging methods opens new vistas in understanding brain functional specialisation. Continue reading
Sa-003-Visual cognition and dyadic interactions in caregivers and infants.
This study investigated whether there was an association between caregiver and infant visual cognition, and how caregiver-infant dyadic interactions were linked to this association. Visual cognition was measured using the preferential looking task. Caregivers and infants also engaged in unstructured play with toys. fNIRS was used to record brain activation. We found that there was an association between caregiver and infant visual cognition during experimental paradigms, and an association between caregiver and infant behaviors during dyadic interactions. Lastly, we find robust links between visual cognition and dyadic behaviors in caregivers and infants separately. Continue reading
Fr-008-fNIRS Evaluation of Cortical Reorganization Following Brief Speech-in-Noise Training
This study investigates cortical effects of single-session speech-in-noise (SIN) training using fNIRS and assesses data reproducibility. Thirty normal-hearing participants underwent SIN training with noise-vocoded stimuli. Significant post-training SIN enhancements were found, particularly in those with poorer initial performance or lower pre-training activation in the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG). MTG activation to trained stimuli decreased post-training, suggesting improved neural processing efficiency. Group-level reliability was confirmed, but individual-level reproducibility of fNIRS data was poor. These findings underscore the significance of fNIRS in elucidating the mechanisms driving auditory learning and plasticity yet highlight the challenges in translating fNIRS data to clinical practice. Continue reading
Vi-025-Imaging static absorbing properties using wavelength modulated near-infrared spectroscopy
A method called wavelength-modulated near-infrared spectroscopy is used to estimate the absolute concentrations of absorbers in highly scattering media using measurements of the rate of change of optical attenuation with wavelength. The method is demonstrated using three experimental systems based on a wavelength-modulated source, a spectrometer, and discrete sources at adjacent wavelengths. Measurements are independent of absolute intensity and thus less influenced by changes in coupling (to which hair is a significant contributor) which cause artefacts in conventional NIRS data. Images of a tissue equivalent phantom clearly reveal internal absorbers despite a random layer of dark hair on the surface. Continue reading
Fr-012-Somatotopic organization of the thumb and shoulder Nogier points in the primary somatosensory cortex using HD-fNIRS
This study investigated the somatotopic representation of thumb and shoulder Nogier points in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) using high density functional near-infrared spectroscopy in 17 healthy adults. Tactile stimulation at these points revealed distinct lateral (thumb) and medial (shoulder) activations, with ipsilateral dominance for the thumb and contralateral for the shoulder. A positive correlation was found between reported stimulation pressure and brain activity. Mild pain and pressure sensations were reported, confirming the somatotopic organization of ear points in S1, which has implications for understanding sensory mapping and its clinical and therapeutic applications. Continue reading
Vi-017-Near infrared spectroscopy and its acquisition parameters in cochlear implant users: a systematic review
Abstract: This study aims to identify the acquisition parameters of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in cochlear implant users. Methods: A systematic literature review was carried out following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. Results: Nineteen studies were included, 13 of which presented a low risk to bias. Conclusion: there were common acquisition parameters for fNIRS in cochlear implant users: predominant use of auditory stimuli in the form of words and phrases presented in a free field environment, bilateral recording of responses in the temporal lobe, incorporation of visual stimuli, study participants were alert and awake. Continue reading