Martini Matteo, Arias Natalia
Department of Psychology, University of East London, E15 4LZ Water Lane, London, UK.
Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life and Natural Sciences, BRABE Group, University of Nebrija, C/ del Hostal, 28248 Madrid, Spain.
J Integr Neurosci. 2021 Dec 30;20(4):1105-1109. doi: 10.31083/j.jin2004111.
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been largely used in neuroscience as an alternative non-invasive neuroimaging technique, primarily to measure the oxygenation levels of cerebral haemoglobin. Its portability and relative robustness against motion artefacts made it an ideal method to measure cerebral blood changes during physical activity. Usually referred to as 'functional' NIRS (fNIRS) when used to monitor brain changes during motor or cognitive tasks, this technique often involves the montage the probes on the forehead of the participants to gauge the neurophysiological underpinning of executive functioning. Other applications of NIRS include other aspects of cerebral hemodynamics such as cerebral pulsatility. However, there is an important aspect that fNIRS studies do not seem to have taken into account so far, which relates to the capacity of near-infrared light to modulate cognitive and psychological processes according to what is known as photobiomodulation (PBM). Hence, drawing on a selection of NIRS and PBM experiments, we argue in favour of an integrative view for NIR-based neuroimaging studies, which should embrace a control for the possible effects of light stimulation, especially when fNIRS is considered to test the effect of an intervention.
近红外光谱技术（NIRS）在神经科学领域已被广泛应用，作为一种替代性的非侵入性神经成像技术，主要用于测量脑血红蛋白的氧合水平。其便携性以及对运动伪影相对较强的耐受性，使其成为测量身体活动期间脑血流变化的理想方法。当用于监测运动或认知任务期间的大脑变化时，该技术通常被称为“功能性”近红外光谱技术（fNIRS），此技术常常需要在参与者的前额安装探头组件，以评估执行功能的神经生理学基础。近红外光谱技术的其他应用还包括脑血流动力学的其他方面，如脑搏动性。然而，有一个重要方面似乎是fNIRS研究目前尚未考虑到的，即根据所谓的光生物调节作用（PBM），近红外光调节认知和心理过程的能力。因此，基于一系列近红外光谱技术和光生物调节作用实验，我们支持对基于近红外光谱技术的神经成像研究采用综合观点，这种观点应包括对光刺激可能产生的影响进行控制，尤其是在考虑使用fNIRS来测试干预效果时。
