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Xu E, Vanegas M, Mireles M, Dementyev A, McCann A, Yücel M, Carp SA, Fang Q. Flexible circuit-based spatially aware modular optical brain imaging system for high-density measurements in natural settings. NEUROPHOTONICS 2024; 11:035002. [PMID: 38975286 PMCID: PMC11224775 DOI: 10.1117/1.nph.11.3.035002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/12/2024] [Revised: 05/31/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 07/09/2024]
Abstract
Significance Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) presents an opportunity to study human brains in everyday activities and environments. However, achieving robust measurements under such dynamic conditions remains a significant challenge. Aim The modular optical brain imaging (MOBI) system is designed to enhance optode-to-scalp coupling and provide a real-time probe three-dimensional (3D) shape estimation to improve the use of fNIRS in everyday conditions. Approach The MOBI system utilizes a bendable and lightweight modular circuit-board design to enhance probe conformity to head surfaces and comfort for long-term wearability. Combined with automatic module connection recognition, the built-in orientation sensors on each module can be used to estimate optode 3D positions in real time to enable advanced tomographic data analysis and motion tracking. Results Optical characterization of the MOBI detector reports a noise equivalence power of 8.9 and 7.3 pW / Hz at 735 and 850 nm, respectively, with a dynamic range of 88 dB. The 3D optode shape acquisition yields an average error of 4.2 mm across 25 optodes in a phantom test compared with positions acquired from a digitizer. Results for initial in vivo validations, including a cuff occlusion and a finger-tapping test, are also provided. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, the MOBI system is the first modular fNIRS system featuring fully flexible circuit boards. The self-organizing module sensor network and automatic 3D optode position acquisition, combined with lightweight modules ( 18 g / module ) and ergonomic designs, would greatly aid emerging explorations of brain function in naturalistic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Xu
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Morris Vanegas
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Miguel Mireles
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Artem Dementyev
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab, Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Ashlyn McCann
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Meryem Yücel
- Boston University, Neurophotonics Center, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Stefan A. Carp
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
| | - Qianqian Fang
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, Boston, Massachusetts, United States
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Xu E, Vanegas M, Mireles M, Dementyev A, Yucel M, Carp S, Fang Q. Flexible-circuit-based 3-D aware modular optical brain imaging system for high-density measurements in natural settings. MEDRXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR HEALTH SCIENCES 2024:2024.03.01.24302838. [PMID: 38496598 PMCID: PMC10942511 DOI: 10.1101/2024.03.01.24302838] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/19/2024]
Abstract
Significance Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) presents an opportunity to study human brains in everyday activities and environments. However, achieving robust measurements under such dynamic condition remains a significant challenge. Aim The modular optical brain imaging (MOBI) system is designed to enhance optode-to-scalp coupling and provide real-time probe 3-D shape estimation to improve the use of fNIRS in everyday conditions. Approach The MOBI system utilizes a bendable and lightweight modular circuit-board design to enhance probe conformity to head surfaces and comfort for long-term wearability. Combined with automatic module connection recognition, the built-in orientation sensors on each module can be used to estimate optode 3-D positions in real-time to enable advanced tomographic data analysis and motion tracking. Results Optical characterization of the MOBI detector reports a noise equivalence power (NEP) of 8.9 and 7.3 pW / H z at 735 nm and 850 nm, respectively, with a dynamic range of 88 dB. The 3-D optode shape acquisition yields an average error of 4.2 mm across 25 optodes in a phantom test compared to positions acquired from a digitizer. Results for initial in vivo validations, including a cuff occlusion and a finger-tapping test, are also provided. Conclusions To the best of our knowledge, the MOBI system is the first modular fNIRS system featuring fully flexible circuit boards. The self-organizing module sensor network and automatic 3-D optode position acquisition, combined with lightweight modules (18 g/module) and ergonomic designs, would greatly aid emerging explorations of brain function in naturalistic settings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Xu
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, USA, 02115
| | - Morris Vanegas
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, USA, 02115
| | - Miguel Mireles
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, USA, 02115
| | - Artem Dementyev
- Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Media Lab, 77 Massachusetts Avenue, Cambridge, USA, 02139
| | - Meryem Yucel
- Boston University, Neurophotonics Center, 233 Bay State Road, Boston, USA, 02215
| | - Stefan Carp
- Massachusetts General Hospital, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, 149 13th St, Boston, USA, 02129
| | - Qianqian Fang
- Northeastern University, Department of Bioengineering, 360 Huntington Avenue, Boston, USA, 02115
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Sklivanioti Greenfield M, Wang Y, Msghina M. Similarities and differences in the induction and regulation of the negative emotions fear and disgust: A functional near infrared spectroscopy study. Scand J Psychol 2022; 63:581-593. [PMID: 35634652 PMCID: PMC9796661 DOI: 10.1111/sjop.12836] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/09/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Affective processing, including induction and regulation of emotion, activates neural networks, induces physiological responses, and generates subjective experience. Dysregulation of these processes can lead to maladaptive behavior and even psychiatric morbidity. Multimodal studies of emotion thus not only help elucidate the nature of emotion, but also contribute to important clinical insights. In the present study, we compared the induction (EI) and effortful regulation (ER) with reappraisal of fear and disgust in healthy subjects using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in conjunction with electrodermal activity (EDA). During EI, there was significant activation in medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) for fear and more widespread activation for disgust, with right lateral PFC significantly more active during disgust compared to fear. ER was equally effective for fear and disgust reducing subjective emotion rating by roughly 45%. Compared to baseline, there was no increased PFC activity for fear during ER, while for disgust lateral PFC was significantly more active. Significant differences between the two negative emotions were also observed in sympathetic nerve activity as reflected in EDA during EI, but not during ER. Lastly, compared to men, women had higher emotion rating for both fear and disgust without corresponding differences in EDA. In conclusion, in the present study we show that emotion induction was associated with differential activation in both PFC and sympathetic nerve activity for fear and disgust. These differences were however less prominent during emotion regulation. We discuss the potential interpretation of our results and their implications regarding our understanding of negative emotion processing.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Yanlu Wang
- Department of Clinical ScienceIntervention, and Technology, Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden,MR Physics, Medical Radiation Physics and Nuclear MedicineKarolinska University HospitalStockholmSweden
| | - Mussie Msghina
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience (CNS)Karolinska InstituteStockholmSweden,Faculty of Medicine and HealthÖrebro UniversityÖrebroSweden
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Crum J, Zhang X, Noah A, Hamilton A, Tachtsidis I, Burgess PW, Hirsch J. An Approach to Neuroimaging Interpersonal Interactions in Mental Health Interventions. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 7:669-679. [PMID: 35144035 PMCID: PMC9271588 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2022.01.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2021] [Revised: 12/31/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Conventional paradigms in clinical neuroscience tend to be constrained in terms of ecological validity, raising several challenges to studying the mechanisms mediating treatments and outcomes in clinical settings. Addressing these issues requires real-world neuroimaging techniques that are capable of continuously collecting data during free-flowing interpersonal interactions and that allow for experimental designs that are representative of the clinical situations in which they occur. METHODS In this work, we developed a paradigm that fractionates the major components of human-to-human verbal interactions occurring in clinical situations and used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to assess the brain systems underlying clinician-client discourse (N = 30). RESULTS Cross-brain neural coupling between people was significantly greater during clinical interactions compared with everyday life verbal communication, particularly between the prefrontal cortex (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus) and inferior parietal lobule (e.g., supramarginal gyrus). The clinical tasks revealed extensive increases in activity across the prefrontal cortex, especially in the rostral prefrontal cortex (area 10), during periods in which participants were required to silently reason about the dysfunctional cognitions of the other person. CONCLUSIONS This work demonstrates a novel experimental approach to investigating the neural underpinnings of interpersonal interactions that typically occur in clinical settings, and its findings support the idea that particular prefrontal systems might be critical to cultivating mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Crum
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
| | - Xian Zhang
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Adam Noah
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Antonia Hamilton
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ilias Tachtsidis
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul W Burgess
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joy Hirsch
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom; Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut
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Crum J, Ronca F, Herbert G, Funk S, Carmona E, Hakim U, Jones I, Hamer M, Hirsch J, Hamilton A, Tachtsidis I, Burgess PW. Decreased Exercise-Induced Changes in Prefrontal Cortex Hemodynamics Are Associated With Depressive Symptoms. FRONTIERS IN NEUROERGONOMICS 2022; 3:806485. [PMID: 38235451 PMCID: PMC10790946 DOI: 10.3389/fnrgo.2022.806485] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2021] [Accepted: 04/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/19/2024]
Abstract
People with a depressed mood tend to perform poorly on executive function tasks, which require much of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), an area of the brain which has also been shown to be hypo-active in this population. Recent research has suggested that these aspects of cognition might be improved through physical activity and cognitive training. However, whether the acute effects of exercise on PFC activation during executive function tasks vary with depressive symptoms remains unclear. To investigate these effects, 106 participants were given a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET) and were administered a set of executive function tests directly before and after the CPET assessment. The composite effects of exercise on the PFC (all experimental blocks) showed bilateral activation changes in dorsolateral (BA46/9) and ventrolateral (BA44/45) PFC, with the greatest changes occurring in rostral PFC (BA10). The effects observed in right ventrolateral PFC varied depending on level of depressive symptoms (13% variance explained); the changes in activation were less for higher levels. There was also a positive relationship between CPET scores (VO2peak) and right rostral PFC, in that greater activation changes in right BA10 were predictive of higher levels of aerobic fitness (9% variance explained). Since acute exercise ipsilaterally affected this PFC subregion and the inferior frontal gyrus during executive function tasks, this suggests physical activity might benefit the executive functions these subregions support. And because physical fitness and depressive symptoms explained some degree of cerebral upregulation to these subregions, physical activity might more specifically facilitate the engagement of executive functions that are typically associated with hypoactivation in depressed populations. Future research might investigate this possibility in clinical populations, particularly the neural effects of physical activity used in combination with mental health interventions.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Crum
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Flaminia Ronca
- Institute of Sport Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - George Herbert
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sabina Funk
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Estela Carmona
- Institute of Sport Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Uzair Hakim
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Isla Jones
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Hamer
- Institute of Sport Exercise and Health, Faculty of Medical Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Joy Hirsch
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Comparative Medicine, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, School of Medicine, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Antonia Hamilton
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ilias Tachtsidis
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul W. Burgess
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Faculty of Brain Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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An Examination of the Relationship Between Perfectionism and Neurological Functioning. J Cogn Psychother 2021; 35:195-211. [PMID: 34362859 DOI: 10.1891/jcpsy-d-20-00037] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Clinical perfectionism is the rigid pursuit of high standards, interfering with functioning. Little research has explored neural patterns in clinical perfectionism. The present study explores neural correlates of clinical perfectionism, before and after receiving ten 50-minute, weekly sessions of acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), as compared to low-perfectionist controls, in specific cortical structures: the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), right inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Participants in the perfectionist condition (n = 43) were from a randomized controlled trial evaluating ACT for clinical perfectionism and low-perfectionist controls were undergraduate students (n = 12). Participants completed three tasks (editing a passage, mirror image tracing, circle tracing) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure neural activation. Results indicate that ḥin the DLPFC and MPFC of the perfectionists whereas activation in the other tasks were relatively similar. There were no differences were observed in the right DLPFC, MPFC, and right IPL between the posttreatment perfectionist and nonperfectionist control groups. Our findings suggest an unclear relationship between neural activation and perfectionism.
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Crum J. Understanding Mental Health and Cognitive Restructuring With Ecological Neuroscience. Front Psychiatry 2021; 12:697095. [PMID: 34220594 PMCID: PMC8249924 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.697095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Accepted: 05/25/2021] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging and neuropsychological methods have contributed much toward an understanding of the information processing systems of the human brain in the last few decades, but to what extent do cognitive neuroscientific findings represent and generalize to the inter- and intra-brain dynamics engaged in adapting to naturalistic situations? If it is not marked, and experimental designs lack ecological validity, then this stands to potentially impact the practical applications of a paradigm. In no other domain is this more important to acknowledge than in human clinical neuroimaging research, wherein reduced ecological validity could mean a loss in clinical utility. One way to improve the generalizability and representativeness of findings is to adopt a more "real-world" approach to the development and selection of experimental designs and neuroimaging techniques to investigate the clinically-relevant phenomena of interest. For example, some relatively recent developments to neuroimaging techniques such as functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) make it possible to create experimental designs using naturalistic tasks that would otherwise not be possible within the confines of a conventional laboratory. Mental health, cognitive interventions, and the present challenges to investigating the brain during treatment are discussed, as well as how the ecological use of fNIRS might be helpful in bridging the explanatory gaps to understanding the cultivation of mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- James Crum
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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Kelsen BA, Sumich A, Kasabov N, Liang SHY, Wang GY. What has social neuroscience learned from hyperscanning studies of spoken communication? A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 132:1249-1262. [PMID: 33022298 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.09.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/20/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/08/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
A growing body of literature examining the neurocognitive processes of interpersonal linguistic interaction indicates the emergence of neural alignment as participants engage in oral communication. However, questions have arisen whether the study results can be interpreted beyond observations of cortical functionality and extended to the mutual understanding between communicators. This review presents evidence from electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning studies of interbrain synchrony (IBS) in which participants communicated via spoken language. The studies are classified into: knowledge sharing; turn-taking speech co-ordination; cooperation, problem-solving and creativity; and naturalistic discussion paradigms according to the type of interaction specified in each study. Alignment predominantly occurred in the frontal and temporo-parietal areas, which may reflect activation of the mirror and mentalizing systems. We argue that the literature presents a significant contribution to advancing our understanding of IBS and mutual understanding between communicators. We end with suggestions for future research, including analytical approaches and experimental conditions and hypothesize that brain-inspired neural networks are promising techniques for better understanding of IBS through hyperscanning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Brent A Kelsen
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand; Language Center, National Taipei University, New Taipei City, Taiwan
| | - Alexander Sumich
- Division of Psychology, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Nikola Kasabov
- Knowledge Engineering and Discovery Research Institute (KEDRI), Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand
| | - Sophie H Y Liang
- Department of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taoyuan, Taiwan; Department of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital at Taoyuan, Taoyuan, Taiwan
| | - Grace Y Wang
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Auckland University of Technology, Auckland, New Zealand.
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