title: Using Fiberless, Wearable fNIRS to Monitor Brain Activity in Real-world Cognitive Tasks.
abstract: Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a neuroimaging technique that uses near-infrared light to monitor brain activity. Based on neurovascular coupling, fNIRS is able to measure the haemoglobin concentration changes secondary to neuronal activity. Compared to other neuroimaging techniques, fNIRS represents a good compromise in terms of spatial and temporal resolution. Moreover, it is portable, lightweight, less sensitive to motion artifacts and does not impose significant physical restraints. It is therefore appropriate to monitor a wide range of cognitive tasks (e.g., auditory, gait analysis, social interaction) and different age populations (e.g., new-borns, adults, elderly people). The recent development of fiberless fNIRS devices has opened the way to new applications in neuroscience research. This represents a unique opportunity to study functional activity during real-world tests, which can be more sensitive and accurate in assessing cognitive function and dysfunction than lab-based tests. This study explored the use of fiberless fNIRS to monitor brain activity during a real-world prospective memory task. This protocol is performed outside the lab and brain haemoglobin concentration changes are continuously measured over the prefrontal cortex while the subject walks around in order to accomplish several different tasks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Malet Place Engineering Building, University College London; Infrared Imaging Lab, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technology (ITAB), Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara.
authors.forename: Paola
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Pinti
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Clarisse
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Aichelburg
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Frida
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lind
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Malet Place Engineering Building, University College London.
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Power
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Swingler
authors.affiliation: Infrared Imaging Lab, Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technology (ITAB), Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University of Chieti-Pescara.
authors.forename: Arcangelo
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Merla
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Antonia
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hamilton
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Sam
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gilbert
authors.affiliation: Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Alexandra House, University College London.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Burgess
authors.affiliation: Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Malet Place Engineering Building, University College London; i.tachtsidis@ucl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Ilias
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Tachtsidis