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Conducting Hyperscanning Experiments with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Published on: January 19, 2019
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Superficial Fluctuations in Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
Summary
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) measures brain activity but is susceptible to noise. This study shows superficial fluctuations contaminate fNIRS signals, necessitating their removal for accurate brain imaging.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Biomedical Engineering
- Medical Imaging
Background:
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a portable, non-invasive neuroimaging technique.
- fNIRS offers advantages over fMRI, especially for infants, elders, and patients with medical implants.
- fNIRS signals are susceptible to physiological noise from heartbeat, respiration, and low-frequency oscillations.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the relationship between superficial and compound signals in fNIRS measurements.
- To identify and quantify noise sources in whole-head fNIRS configurations.
- To improve the accuracy of fNIRS for cerebral activity monitoring.
Main Methods:
- Utilized short and long channels in a whole-head fNIRS configuration.
- Analyzed signal variances and correlations between superficial and compound signals.
- Applied signal processing techniques to extract superficial fluctuations.
Main Results:
- A global component accounted for 49.56% of the variance in long-channel fNIRS data.
- This global component significantly correlated with superficial fluctuations measured by short channels.
- Superficial fluctuations were identified as a major contaminant of cerebral activity signals.
Conclusions:
- Compound fNIRS signals are contaminated by superficial physiological noise.
- Accurate cerebral activity imaging with fNIRS requires the removal of these superficial fluctuations.
- This research is critical for enhancing the reliability and precision of fNIRS neuroimaging.
