Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for the Classification of Motor-Related Brain Activity on the Sensor-Level

Abstract

Sensor-level human brain activity is studied during real and imaginary motor execution using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Blood oxygenation and deoxygenation spatial dynamics exhibit pronounced hemispheric lateralization when performing motor tasks with the left and right hands. This fact allowed us to reveal biomarkers of hemodynamical response of the motor cortex on the motor execution, and use them for designing a sensing method for classification of the type of movement. The recognition accuracy of real movements is close to 100%, while the classification accuracy of imaginary movements is lower but quite high (at the level of 90%). The advantage of the proposed method is its ability to classify real and imaginary movements with sufficiently high efficiency without the need for recalculating parameters. The proposed system can serve as a sensor of motor activity to be used for neurorehabilitation after severe brain injuries, including traumas and strokes. different brain areas (e.g., event-related synchronization/desynchronization) on a sensor level provide important information about the current state of the nervous system and cognitive brain ability [7][8][9][10]. Particular brain states are associated with motor brain activity during either real or imaginary movement.Revealing specific features of spatial brain cortex activity related to real motions and motor imagery of different limbs can be essential not only for basic research in neuroscience, but also for applications in medicine to improve the quality of life of post-traumatic and post-stroke patients using brain-computer interfaces (BCI) for rehabilitation [11][12][13] or to control prostheses and exoskeletons [14]. One of the important BCI functions is online detection of specific features of electromagnetic brain activity using electroencephalography (EEG) [15] or magnetoencephalography (MEG) [16], and transformation of certain patterns into control commands to perform specific actions in the environment without the need of "classical" methods of human-machine interaction [17].Apart from EEG and MEG, other methods are also used to acquire information about brain states. In particular, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) [18,19] is a powerful tool of noninvasive optical imaging successfully used in BCI for registration of brain activity and control command formation [20][21][22]. Control commands for this kind of BCI should not be affected by any muscular activity [23]. Therefore, a study of brain states related to motor imagery is very important for designing such BCI [16,24]. Motor imagery is a mental process by which a person rehearses or simulates a given action with no real motor activity. Some researchers treat motor imagery as a conscious application of unconscious preparation for real motor activity [25]. A number of studies have highlighted common features for real and imaginary motor activity [26][27][28]. One of the common features, important for the BCI development, is that the cortical layout in the primary ...

Shedding light on neuroscience: Two decades of functional near‐infrared spectroscopy applications and advances from a bibliometric perspective

“…For example, in the last year, authors dedicated their attention to cognitive functions and motor impairment, 56,58,122,123 development and language, [124][125][126][127] social and emotional engagement, [128][129][130] BCI systems, 63,64 and rehabilitation. 131 This study has several limitations. First, WoS was the only bibliographic database included and others, such as Scopus, Dimensions, and PubMed, were not considered.…”

“…However, clustering co‐occurrences of words and how they relate provided the possibility to predict the newest tendencies and the future of fNIRS. For example, in the last year, authors dedicated their attention to cognitive functions and motor impairment, 56,58,122,123 development and language, 124–127 social and emotional engagement, 128–130 BCI systems, 63,64 and rehabilitation 131 …”

Age-Related Distinctions in EEG Signals during Execution of Motor Tasks Characterized in Terms of Long-Range Correlations

“…However, the differences in responses to clenching the dominant and non-dominant hands into a fist were better expressed in young participants, who demonstrated relatively weak changes in long-range correlations when performing motor tasks with the non-dominant hand. The potential of DFA can be further used in the field of brain–computer interfaces to recognize different types of real and/or imaginary movements [ 59 ] using the EEG signals.…”

Efficacy of Intermittent Theta-Burst Stimulation and Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation in Treatment of Post-Stroke Cognitive Impairment

“…Func-tional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive optical imaging technology that relies on the principle of neurovascular coupling. It uses the attenuation of nearinfrared light to quantify changes in the concentration of cerebral cortex oxygenation (HbO) and deoxyhemoglobin (HHb), thus measuring activation of the cerebral cortex [25]. Compared with more mature imaging methods, such as functional magnetic resonance and electroencephalography, fNIRS has the advantages of portability, low cost, and lack of interference from motion artifacts, imposing fewer constraints on subjects during the measurement process [26].…”