Non-invasive functional mapping of the human motor cortex using near-infrared spectroscopy.
We applied non-invasive multisite near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to assess oxygenation changes during performance of a sequential finger opposition task in five healthy human adults. Oxygenation response was localized anatomically using three-dimensional high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging (3D MRI). NIRS measurements showed a localized increase in [oxy-Hb] and a decrease in [deoxy-Hb] in all subjects. The largest response was obtained when the measurement position was over the primary motor and sensory cortex hand area. Interestingly, changes in [deoxy-Hb] seemed to be more localized than changes in [oxy-Hb]. We conclude that this simple, non-invasive and flexible optical bedside method may be used for functional brain mapping.
Department of Neurology, University Hospital Charite, Berlin, Germany.
C
C
Hirth
H
H
Obrig
K
K
Villringer
A
A
Thiel
J
J
Bernarding
W
W
Mühlnickel
H
H
Flor
U
U
Dirnagl
A
A
Villringer
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D006801:Humans; D009044:Motor Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared