Abstract
Hemodynamic response to motor execution (ME) and motor imagery (MI) was investigated using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). We used a 31 channel fNIRS system which allows non-invasive monitoring of cerebral oxygenation changes induced by cortical activation. Sixteen healthy subjects (mean-age 24.5 yeas) were recruited and the changes in concentration of hemoglobin were examined during right and left hand finger tapping tasks and kinesthetic MI. To suppress the systemic physiological interference, we developed a preprocessing procedure which prevents over-activated reporting in NIRS-SPM. In the condition of ME, more activation was observed in the anterior part of the motor cortex including the pre-motor and supplementary motor area (pre-motor and SMA), primary motor cortex (M1) and somatosensory motor cortex (SMC; t(15) > 2.27), however, in the condition of MI, more activation was found in the posterior part of motor cortex including SMC (t(15) > 1.81), which is in line with previous observations with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
Highlights
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy is a non-invasive optical technique that uses either continuous, intensity-modulated, or pulsed near infrared light to monitor oxyhemoglobin (HbO2), deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) and total hemoglobin (HbT) in the cerebral cortex
The results showed that in the condition of motor execution (ME), more activation was observed in the anterior part of the motor cortex including the pre-motor, supplementary motor area (SMA), M1 and somatosensory motor cortex (SMC), in the condition of motor imagery (MI), more activation was observed in the posterior part of the motor cortex, namely, the SMC
For the conditions of the left hand task, there were no overlapping channels activated significantly by both ME and MI, Ch31 activated by ME, and Ch30, activated by MI are both located in the SMC
Summary
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS; Jöbsis, 1977; Lloyd-Fox et al, 2010) is a non-invasive optical technique that uses either continuous, intensity-modulated, or pulsed near infrared light to monitor oxyhemoglobin (HbO2), deoxyhemoglobin (HbR) and total hemoglobin (HbT) in the cerebral cortex. With low-cost, safety, high temporal resolution and acceptable spatial resolution, fNIRS has been widely adopted to record brain activation in response to motor execution (ME) and motor imagery (MI) with potential applications in more naturalistic social environments than other brain computer interfaces (BCI; Coyle et al, 2007; Sitaram et al, 2007; Doud et al, 2011; Naseer and Hong, 2013; Koo et al, 2015; Acqualagna et al, 2016). MI corresponds to a motor preparation process where motor programs are recruited to simulate motor performance without executing the movement. This so-called ‘‘simulation hypothesis’’ has been well established
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary 
Published Version (
Free)
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call