The Association between Prefrontal Cortex Activity and Turning Behavior in People with and without Freezing of Gait

Turning elicits Freezing of Gait (FoG) episodes in people with Parkinson's disease (PD) and is thought to require higher cortical control compared to straight ahead gait. Functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been used to examine …

FNIRS and neurocinematics

In the overlap between Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) and Cinematics, sits an interest in physiological responses to experiences. Focusing particularly on brain data, Neurocinematics has emerged as a research field using Brain-Computer Interface …

Identification of the Pain Process by Cold Stimulation: Using Dynamic Causal Modeling of Effective Connectivity in Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS)

Background: Pain is an unpleasant sensory and emotional experience followed by anxiety, depression, and frustration. Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) as an optical technique identifies the brain functional networks by investigating …

Acute effects of combined Bacopa, American ginseng and whole coffee fruit on working memory and cerebral haemodynamic response of the prefrontal cortex: a double-blind, placebo-controlled study

Objective: This study assessed whether a multi-ingredient herbal supplement containing Bacopa monniera (BM), Panax quinquefolius ginseng (PQ) and whole coffee fruit extract (WCFE) could enhance cognitive performance and cerebral-cortical activation …

Pre-frontal cortical activity during walking and turning is reliable and differentiates across young, older adults and people with Parkinson's disease

Introduction: Mobility declines with age and further with neurodegenerative disorders, such as Parkinson's disease (PD). Walking and turning ability, in particular, are vital aspects of mobility that deteriorate with age and are further impaired in …

Treading on the unknown increases prefrontal activity: A pilot fNIRS study

Background: Complex walking conditions (e.g. dual tasking) have been associated with increased prefrontal (PFC) activity. However, most paradigms include a predictable environment, specifically, a predictable walking terrain. In the present study we …

Working memory, cognitive load and cardiorespiratory fitness: Testing the CRUNCH model with near-infrared spectroscopy

The present study aimed to examine the effects of chronological age and cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) on cognitive performance and prefrontal cortex activity, and to test the compensation-related utilization of neural circuits hypothesis (CRUNCH). …

Concurrent exergaming and transcranial direct current stimulation to improve balance in people with Parkinson's disease: Study protocol for a randomised controlled trial

Background: People with Parkinson's disease (PD) commonly experience postural instability, resulting in poor balance and an increased risk of falls. Exercise-based video gaming (exergaming) is a form of physical training that is delivered through …

Concurrent changes of brain functional connectivity and motor variability when adapting to task constraints

In behavioral neuroscience, the adaptability of humans facing different constraints has been addressed on one side at the brain level, where a variety of functional networks dynamically support the same performance, and on the other side at the …

Empirical support for 'hastening-through-re-automatization' by contrasting two motor-cognitive dual tasks

Motor-cognitive dual tasks have been intensely studied and it has been demonstrated that even well practiced movements like walking show signs of interference when performed concurrently with a challenging cognitive task. Typically walking speed is …

Optimization measurement of muscle oxygen saturation under isometric studies using FNIRS

Development of functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technologies has advanced quantification signal using multiple wavelength and detector to investigate hemodynamic response in human muscle. These non-invasive technologies have been widely …

Prefrontal cortex activation during obstacle negotiation: What's the effect size and timing?

Background: Obstacle negotiation is a daily activity that requires the integration of sensorimotor and cognitive information. Recent studies provide evidence for the important role of prefrontal cortex during obstacle negotiation. We aimed to explore …

Evidence for Differential Effects of 2 Forms of Exercise on Prefrontal Plasticity During Walking in Parkinson's Disease

Background. In a randomized control trial conducted in patients with Parkinson's disease, a treadmill training program combined with virtual reality that targeted motor and cognitive aspects of safe ambulation led to fewer falls, compared with …

The present and future use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for cognitive neuroscience

The past few decades have seen a rapid increase in the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in cognitive neuroscience. This fast growth is due to the several advances that fNIRS offers over the other neuroimaging modalities such as …

The role of parietal cortex in overimitation: a study with fNIRS

Previous studies have shown right parietal activation in response to observing irrational actions. Behavioral studies show that people sometimes imitate irrational actions, a phenomenon called overimitation. However, limitations on movement in …

Focal Hemodynamic Responses in the Stimulated Hemisphere During High-Definition Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation

Objective: High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) using a 4 × 1 electrode montage has been previously shown using modeling and physiological studies to constrain the electric field within the spatial extent of the …

Is wireless functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) 3D neuroimaging feasible to map human navigation in the real-world?

Real-time maps (with temporal and spatial resolution: 1–10 Hz and $∼$1 cm, respectively) of cortical activation can be obtained by functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), which noninvasively measures cortical hemodynamic changes (as oxygenated …

Using noninvasive methods to drive brain-computer interface (BCI): The role of electroencephalography and functional near-infrared spectroscopy in BCI

The success of brain-computer interfaces (BCI) systems is largely dependent on the ability to record and interpret clear neurophysiological signals invasively or noninvasively through the scalp and skull. In particular, two noninvasive techniques of …

When is Higher Level Cognitive Control Needed for Locomotor Tasks Among Patients with Parkinson's Disease?

Turning has been implicated as a complex task that requires both motor and cognitive resources. Accumulating evidence shows that patients with Parkinson's disease (PD) require more steps and more time to complete a turn, however, the role of the …

Effects of aging on prefrontal brain activation during challenging walking conditions

Background Deficits in cognitive domains, in particular, those related to the prefrontal cortex, contribute to diminished walking performance in complex conditions in older age. Studies using functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) reported …