Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy Device Research Articles

Similarities and distinctions between cortical neural substrates that underlie generation of malevolent creative ideas.

Creativity can be driven by negative intentions, and this is called malevolent creativity (MC). It is a type of creativity that serves antisocial purposes and deliberately leads to harmful or immoral results. A possible classification indicates that there are three kinds of MC in daily life: hurting people, lying, and playing tricks. This study aimed to explore similar and distinct neural substrates underlying these different kinds of MC idea generation. The participants were asked to perform different MC tasks, and their neural responses were recorded using a functional near-infrared spectroscopy device. The findings revealed that most regions within the prefrontal and temporal lobes (e.g., the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, rDLPFC, and right angular gyrus) were involved in the three MC tasks. However, the right frontopolar cortex (rFPC) was more activated and less coupled with the rDLPFC and right precuneus during the lying task than during the other tasks. Thus, rFPC may play an important role in constructing novel lies. In the lying task, individuals were more selfish and less compassionate. In the playing tricks and hurting people tasks, there was less neural coupling between the rDLPFC and the left inferior frontal gyrus/right inferior parietal lobule than that in the lying task. This may imply that selfish motivation is released when individuals try to ignore victims' distress or generate aggressive tricks in hurting people or playing tricks tasks. These findings indicate that the three kinds of MC idea generation involve common cortical regions related to creative idea generation and moral judgment, whereas differences in cortical responses exist due to their unique features.Significance StatementMalevolent creativity (MC) is a type of creativity that serves antisocial purposes and deliberately leads to harmful or immoral results. A possible classification indicates that there are three kinds of MC in daily life: hurting people, lying, and playing tricks. The present study, for the first time, explored the similarities and distinctions between cortical neural substrates that underlie generation of malevolent creative ideas. The findings indicate that the three kinds of MC idea generation involve common cortical regions related to creative idea generation and moral judgment, whereas differences in cortical responses exist due to their unique features. This study provided support for the MC three-dimensional framework (i.e., hurting people, lying, and playing tricks), and preliminarily revealed the underlying neural substrates of various MC idea generation, which helps to develop effective techniques or approaches to manage and prevent malevolent creative behaviors.

Activation of the Anterior Prefrontal Cortex by Abacus Activity in Children: A Case Study on the Effect of Moderate Load Training on Working Memory

Much attention has been paid to the enhancement of working memory, which can improve children’s lives. Part of the value of working memory training is that it activates the prefrontal cortex. Therefore, it is important to determine the parts of the prefrontal cortex that are activated by working memory training. While there is much evidence that mental abacus effectively trains working memory, few studies have assessed whether the abacus (Soroban) in Japan should be considered an effective training approach for working memory and if it activates the prefrontal cortex. Therefore, in this case study, a 16-channel functional near-infrared spectroscopy device (OEG-16H, Spectratech, Japan) was used to compare brain activation during the abacus task using the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children Working Memory Index tasks (i.e., digit span (forward), digit span (backward), letter–number sequencing, and picture span tasks). First-grade boys and fifth-grade girls participated in this study. The results revealed that the anterior part of the prefrontal cortex was specifically activated by the abacus task. These findings support the possibility that the abacus activity is an effective training approach for working memory.

Stress Reduction Effects during Block-Tapping Task of Jaw in Healthy Participants: Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) Measurements of Prefrontal Cortex Activity.

The purpose of this study was to explore the influence of simple jaw opening and closing task of chewing movements on the activities of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) from the viewpoint of stress reduction. We measured cerebral blood flow (CBF) in the PFC during a block-tapping task of the jaw in healthy participants. Eleven young healthy individuals with normal dentition (7 males and 4 females, mean age 28.0 ± 3.7 years) volunteered for this study. CBF was measured using a wearable, functional near-infrared spectroscopy device. Measurements were taken using the central incisors and first molars at interocclusal distances of 5 and 10 mm. The participants were asked to bite a hard/soft block. CBF in all conditions showed limited variability or decreasing trend compared to resting state before the task. The main effect was observed for interocclusal distance (p = 0.008), and there were no significant differences for measurement area of the PFC, tooth type, and material type. An interaction was found between tooth type and material type. In conclusion, these results suggest that simple and rhythmical chewing motion has an effect of reducing CBF in the PFC and resting the PFC, which is an especially notable aspect of periodontal sensory information in the molar.

Easy Abacus Calculation in Early Childhood to Support Executive Function: An Educational Pilot Case Study of Comparing Brain Activity in the Prefrontal Cortex

The development of executive functions is remarkable in early childhood. Therefore, research on how to support the development of executive functions is actively being conducted. It has already been indicated that executive functions are related to the prefrontal cortex. Recent evidence suggests that the prefrontal cortex is involved in mental abacus (MA). Further, the study of the abacus—the base of MA—is good for not only mathematics but also nurturing the brain. However, although the abacus is easy to learn, learning opportunities have shrunk because of the widespread use of calculators. Through this educational pilot case study, I examined whether it is possible that even easy calculations during the introduction of abacus calculation in early childhood may have an effect on executive function support. I measured the activation of cerebral blood flow in the prefrontal cortex of a young child while he worked on the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-IV; Working Memory Index tasks (forward digit-span task, backward digit-span task, and letter–number sequencing task); and the abacus calculation task using HOT-2000 (NeU, Japan), a two-channel wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy device. The results revealed a significant difference between the abacus calculation task and the forward digit-span task; however, there was no significant difference between the abacus calculation task and other tasks. In other words, the brain in the prefrontal cortex was more activated in the abacus task than in the forward digit-span task. Difficulty levels were found to be in the order of the forward digit-span task, backward digit-span task, and letter–number sequencing task. Thus, there is a possibility that even simple abacus calculation has a positive effect on executive functions, especially working memory support, in early childhood. This study’s results provide a breakthrough in cognitive psychology, educational psychology, neuropsychology, and other fields related to child support, which are struggling to find valuable, practical practices for children in the field (i.e., schools and homes) beyond the laboratory.

Frontal lobe oxyhemoglobin levels in patients with lower extremity burns assessed using a functional near-Infrared spectroscopy device during usual walking: a pilot study

Background Understanding the mechanisms associated with locomotor networks may be of benefit for rehabilitation of burn victims with neurological locomotor deficits. A wearable functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) device has been developed for studying cortical hemodynamics. Objectives To investigate cortical brain activity during usual walking, we examined patterns of cortical activation using fNIRS device (NIRSIT®; OBELAB Inc., Seoul, Korea), in patients with neurological injury caused by lower extremity burns. Methods This cross-sectional study assessed 15 patients with lower extremity burns, 10 patients with upper extremity burns, and 11 healthy controls. We measured walking-related cortical activity using an fNIRS device at baseline and during usual walking. Results There was no significant difference between the burns groups in terms of age (43.50 ± 14.08 and 44.67 ± 6.92 years, P = 1.00), pain score of NRS (Numeric rating scale) (5.83 ± 1.19 and 6.67 ± 1.21, P = 0.18) or the mean time since injury (228.50 ± 83.43 and 199.33 ± 68.84 days, P = 0.78). Measures showed increased cortical activation in the prefrontal cortex in patients with lower extremity burns than in patients with healthy controls(P = 0.015). The measured HbO2 datas of the regions during usual walking in patients with lower extremity burn were insignificantly higher compared with the datas in patient with upper extremity burn (P = 0.302). Conclusions The patients with neurological injury due to lower extremity burns significantly rely more on cognitive resources even when performing a usual walking task.

Hemodynamic Activity and Connectivity of the Prefrontal Cortex by Using Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy during Color-Word Interference Test in Korean and English Language.

In daily living, people are challenged to focus on their goal while eliminating interferences. Specifically, this study investigated the pre-frontal cortex (PFC) activity while attention control was tested using the self-made color-word interference test (CWIT) with a functional near-infrared spectroscopy device (fNIRS). Among 11 healthy Korean university students, overall the highest scores were obtained in the congruent Korean condition 1 (CKC-1) and had the least vascular response (VR) as opposed to the incongruent Korean condition 2 (IKC-2). The individual’s automatic reading response caused less brain activation while IKC-2 involves color suppression. Across the three trials per each condition, no significant differences (SD) in scores and in VR since there was no intervention did. Meanwhile, SD was observed between CKC-1 and English Congruent Condition 3 (ECC-3) across trials. However, SD was only observed on the third trial of VR. In the connectivity analysis, right and left PFC are activated on ECC-3. In CKC-1 and IKC-2, encompassing dorsomedial and dorsolateral although CKC-1 has less connection and connectivity due to less brain activation as compared. Therefore, aside from VR, brain connectivity could be identified non-invasively using fNIRS without ionizing radiation and at low-cost.

Neural Activity Across the Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Risk for Suicidal Ideation and Self-Injury

The current study investigated the neural correlates of non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) and suicidal ideation across the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Two-hundred ninety-six undergraduates solved anagram tasks while being monitored by a functional near-infrared spectroscopy device, and completed a questionnaire assessing behaviors and symptoms. Repeated measures analysis of variance revealed location-specific changes in neural activity based on NSSI, suicidal ideation, task type, and cognitive demand. The presence of suicidal ideation was associated with specific patterns of neural activity, modified by sex and task type. Interestingly, participants who engaged in NSSI exhibited some deactivation of the dlPFC when faced with more difficult cognitive challenges. Future research on these processes may allow for noninvasive imaging techniques to help screen risk for suicidality and NSSI.

カルマンフィルタと離散フーリエ変換に基づく機能的近赤外分光装置信号の体動アーチファクト検出・除去法

カルマンフィルタと離散フーリエ変換に基づく機能的近赤外分光装置信号の体動アーチファクト検出・除去法