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Updated: May 23, 2026
Exploring Cognitive Functions in Babies, Children & Adults with Near Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: July 28, 2009
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy studies in children
Shinichiro Nagamitsu1, Yushiro Yamashita, Hidetaka Tanaka
1Department of Pediatrics, Child Health Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan. kaoru@med.kurume-u.ac.jp.
Insights
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) offers new insights into brain function for children with psychosomatic and behavioral disorders. This review explores NIRS findings in typically developing children and those with these conditions.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric psychosomatic medicine
- Developmental behavioral pediatrics
- Developmental cognitive neuroscience
- Noninvasive neuroimaging
Background:
- Children frequently present with psychosomatic, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms.
- These symptoms may stem from developmental issues like attachment insecurity and peer conflicts.
- Understanding biological deficits is crucial for effective pediatric symptom management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies in pediatric populations.
- To explore fNIRS findings in both typically developing children and those with psychosomatic/behavioral disorders.
- To highlight the role of fNIRS in developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Main Methods:
- Comprehensive literature review of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies.
- Inclusion of studies on typically developing children.
- Inclusion of studies on children with psychosomatic and behavioral disorders.
Main Results:
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has yielded significant findings in pediatric developmental cognitive neuroscience.
- fNIRS enables the study of brain activity in children, aiding in the identification of cognitive dysfunctions.
- The review synthesizes current knowledge on fNIRS applications in pediatric mental health.
Conclusions:
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a valuable noninvasive tool for studying brain function in children.
- fNIRS research provides insights into the biological underpinnings of cognitive dysfunction in pediatric psychosomatic and behavioral disorders.
- These findings may inform future therapeutic strategies for children's mental health.
Abstract:
Psychosomatic and developmental behavioral medicine in pediatrics has been the subject of significant recent attention, with infants, school-age children, and adolescents frequently presenting with psychosomatic, behavioral, and psychiatric symptoms. These may be a consequence of insecurity of attachment, reduced self-confidence, and peer -relationship conflicts during their developmental stages. Developmental cognitive neuroscience has revealed significant associations between specific brain lesions and particular cognitive dysfunctions. Thus, identifying the biological deficits underlying such cognitive dysfunction may provide new insights into therapeutic prospects for the management of those symptoms in children. Recent advances in noninvasive neuroimaging techniques, and especially functional near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), have contributed significant findings to the field of developmental cognitive neuroscience in pediatrics. We present here a comprehensive review of functional NIRS studies of children who have developed normally and of children with psychosomatic and behavioral disorders.
