NIRS measurement of hemodynamic evoked responses in the primary sensorimotor cortex

To investigate the relationship between neuronal activity and hemodynamics, we carried out a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study to measure the regional changes of hemoglobin concentration associated with cortical activation in the human sensorimotor cortex (SMI) to both voluntary and nonvoluntary tasks. We measured the hemodynamic evoked responses to voluntary finger movement and nonvoluntary electrical stimulation applied on the fingers (thumb and ring finger, respectively). Measurements were performed on 6 healthy right-handed volunteers using block paradigms and we analyzed both the spatial/temporal features and the magnitude of the optical signal induced by cerebral activation during these protocols. We constantly observed an increase in the cerebral concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin at the cortical side contralateral to the stimulated side. Our findings are in agreement with results in positron emission tomography (PET), functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and EEG (Electroencephalogram).