Baker Joseph M, Rojas-Valverde Daniel, Gutiérrez Randall, Winkler Mirko, Fuhrimann Samuel, Eskenazi Brenda, Reiss Allan L, Mora Ana M
Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Division of Brain Sciences, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, School of Medicine, Stanford University , Stanford, California, USA.
Centro de Investigación y Diagnóstico en Salud y Deporte, Universidad Nacional , Heredia, Costa Rica.
Environ Health Perspect. 2017 Sep 21;125(9):094502. doi: 10.1289/EHP2049.
The widespread application of functional neuroimaging within the field of environmental epidemiology has the potential to greatly enhance our understanding of how environmental toxicants affect brain function. Because many epidemiological studies take place in remote and frequently changing environments, it is necessary that the primary neuroimaging approach adopted by the epidemiology community be robust to many environments, easy to use, and, preferably, mobile. Here, we outline our use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to collect functional brain imaging data from Costa Rican farm workers enrolled in an epidemiological study on the health effects of chronic pesticide exposure. While couched in this perspective, we focus on the methodological considerations that are necessary to conduct a mobile fNIRS study in a diverse range of environments. Thus, this guide is intended to be generalizable to all research scenarios and projects in which fNIRS may be used to collect functional brain imaging data in epidemiological field surveys. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2049.
功能神经影像学在环境流行病学领域的广泛应用，有可能极大地增进我们对环境毒物如何影响脑功能的理解。由于许多流行病学研究是在偏远且经常变化的环境中进行的，因此流行病学领域采用的主要神经影像学方法必须适用于多种环境、易于使用，并且最好是可移动的。在此，我们概述了我们使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）从参与慢性农药暴露对健康影响的流行病学研究的哥斯达黎加农场工人中收集功能性脑成像数据的情况。基于此观点，我们重点关注在各种不同环境中开展移动fNIRS研究所需的方法学考量。因此，本指南旨在推广至所有可能使用fNIRS在流行病学现场调查中收集功能性脑成像数据的研究场景和项目。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP2049
