Abstract
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging tool for measuring evoked functional changes in brain oxygenation. Electroencephalography (EEG) can be used to evaluate the functionality of cortical connections and obtain information on regional cortical activity. Coregistration of EEG–NIRS is a recent technique that has been applied for measuring changes in electrical and hemodynamic activity in the human brain. EEG–NIRS coregistration facilitates the avoidance of misleading interpretations of NIRS, particularly in the diagnosis of neurological disorders. In this study, we investigated an approach for enhancing accuracy of NIRS by using EEG to monitor physiological activity during a mental focus task. Using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for the subjects mental focus task, we identified two trend types in the EEG and NIRS signals of normal subjects. These data can assist in understanding brain activation statuses and enable determining subjects’ degree of mental concentration. If the data can be standardized for the diagnosis of neurological disorders, they can provide a new index to improve traditional methods (e.g., questionnaires) to assist clinical doctors in diagnosing cognitive disorders.
Highlights
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging tool for measuring evoked functional changes in brain oxygenation
Each of the 17 participants used up all of the card. Participants in this group exhibited a slow rise in NIRS intensity during the rest and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) task periods and exhibited low amplitude in the high frequency EEG patterns (Fig. 1)
In Group 2, the 13 participants completed all six categories and exhibited substantial differences in blood oxygenation changes during the WCST task according to the NIRS signal
Summary
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging tool for measuring evoked functional changes in brain oxygenation. We investigated an approach for enhancing accuracy of NIRS by using EEG to monitor physiological activity during a mental focus task. Using the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test for the subjects mental focus task, we identified two trend types in the EEG and NIRS signals of normal subjects. These data can assist in understanding brain activation statuses and enable determining subjects’ degree of mental concentration. Many studies have applied the WCST to diagnose the damage to the cognitive function of patients with frontal and nonfrontal pathologies. It can be used to obtain a high temporal resolution, a potential disadvantage of NIRS is its shallow photon penetration (3–5 cm); its spatial resolution is approximately 8 mm, which is inferior to that of functional magnetic resonance imaging
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