Dementia Care Research and Psychosocial Factors

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an advanced neuroimaging technique measuring brain activity by detecting changes in oxygenated (HbO2) and deoxygenated (HHb) hemoglobin concentrations.
• The Beer-Lambert law is applied to quantify hemodynamic variations using near-infrared light absorption at specific wavelengths (760 nm and 850 nm).
• This study introduces the GanglioNav Neuroscope, a novel fNIRS device designed for prefrontal cortex monitoring.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of the GanglioNav Neuroscope in assessing prefrontal brain activity.
• To investigate prefrontal cortex function during various cognitive tasks using fNIRS.
• To explore the application of AI in analyzing fNIRS data for personalized cognitive evaluation.

Main Methods:

• Twenty participants (mean age 24.5) underwent six cognitive tasks (N-back, Stroop, Go/No-Go, Iowa Gambling, Trail Making, Verbal Fluency).
• The forehead-mounted GanglioNav Neuroscope, equipped with ten sensors and five emitters, measured HbO2 and HHb concentration changes.
• An AI application analyzed fNIRS data to assess hemodynamic responses in key prefrontal cortex regions.

Main Results:

• fNIRS data revealed distinct activation patterns in prefrontal areas during cognitive tasks.
• AI-driven analysis provided personalized cognitive evaluation ratings, reflecting prefrontal brain function efficiency.
• The study demonstrated the device's capability to capture task-specific hemodynamic responses.

Conclusions:

• The GanglioNav Neuroscope shows significant potential for evaluating prefrontal brain activity.
• fNIRS, combined with AI analysis, offers a promising approach for cognitive function assessment.
• This technology can provide valuable insights into the neural correlates of cognitive processes.