Evaluating Working Memory Capacity with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Measurement of Brain Activity

Abstract

The present study investigated the relationship between working memory capacity and brain activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. We administered the reading span test language task to measure linguistic working memory, while we assessed brain activity reflected in the cerebral blood flow change during the task. The cerebral blood flow change in the DLPFC had a negative correlation with the reading span test score. Both focused regions exhibited different patterns of cerebral blood flow changes during the first and second halves of the task period in the high-and low-score groups. Our findings suggest that the brain activity correlates with the reading span test score, which is associated with linguistic working memory capacity. Therefore, brain activity measurement in the DLPFC with the functional near-infrared spectroscopy can be used to indirectly assess working memory capacity.

Functional and/or structural brain changes in response to resistance exercises and resistance training lead to cognitive improvements – a systematic review

“…Similar to the relationship of brain structure and cognition, it is assumed that changes in brain function (e.g., brain activation during a cognitive task) contribute to changes in cognition [16,[25][26][27]. Such an intertwined relationship between brain activation and cognition is underpinned by the findings linking activation of the PFC to behavioral performance in executive function tasks [28][29][30][31], in visuomotor tasks [32], or in working memory tasks [33][34][35]. Currently, several hypotheses exist that aim to explain age-related alterations in brain activation and cognition [16,[25][26][27].…”

A Validation Study of a Middle Grades Reading Comprehension Assessment

“…Researchers have used fNIRS to assess several types of brain function including motor and visual activation, auditory stimulation, and performance of various cognitive tasks targeting domains of attention, memory, and executive function (Hoshi, 2005(Hoshi, , 2007Irani, Platek, Bunce, Ruocco, & Chute, 2007;Izzetoglu, Bunce, Izzetoglu, Onaral, & Pourrezaei, 2007;Izzetoglu, Bunce, Onaral, Pourrezaei, & Chance, 2004;Izzetoglu et al, 2005;Rolfe, 2000;Strangman, Boas, & Sutton, 2002;Wolf et al, 2008). Several language-related studies used fNIRS technology to specifically focus on the involvement of the frontal lobe in different aspects of language mainly at the word processing level (Hofmann et al, 2014;Jasinska & Petitto, 2014;Minagawa-Kawai et al, 2009;Quaresima, Bisconti, & Ferrari, 2012;Sela, Izzetoglu, Izzetoglu, & Onaral, 2014;Yamamoto, Mashima, & Hiroyasu, 2018). However, to date, no study has taken full advantage of fNIRS for the evaluation of reading comprehension under natural conditions for the validation of educational assessments.…”

Oxygenation of the Prefrontal Cortex during Memory Interference

“…The fNIRS system measures the density of hemoglobin and deoxygenated-hemoglobin based on the amount of light absorbed, allowing for quantification of the density changes that may occur. This measurement indirectly reflects the functional activities of the brain, with cerebral blood flow (CBF) increasing proportionally to neural activity [15]. This indirect assessment of brain activity may provide useful information into how activation of the PFC affects the degree of memory interference while potentially being more accessible when compared to fMRI or other neuroimaging techniques [11,12,15,16].…”