Functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) in schizophrenia: A review

The research on the alterations in functional connectivity in schizophrenia has been facilitated by development of an array of functional neuroimaging techniques. Functional Near Infra Red Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a novel diffuse optical neuromonitring method with its own advantages and limitations. The advantages of fNIRS have made it to be frequently used as a research tool by medical community in different settings. In fNIRS the property of haemoglobin to absorb near infrared light is used to measure brain activity. It provides the indirect measurement of the neuronal activity in the areas of interest. The advantage of fNIRS being less restrictive has made it to be used more commonly in the research of psychiatric disorders in general, schizophrenia in particular. The fNIRS studies on patients with schizophrenia have shown haemodynamic hypo activation primarily in the prefrontal cortex during various cognitive tasks. In this review, initially we have briefly explained the basic principles of fNIRS followed by detailed review of fNIRS findings in patients with schizophrenia.