de Almeida Valéria Azevedo, da Cruz Maria Clara Lima, Morais Nicole Rodrigues, Rodrigues Italo Vinicius Tavares, Silva Cintia Ricaele Ferreira da, Morya Edgard, Pereira Silvana Alves
Alberto Santos Dumont Institute of Education and Research (ISD), RN, Macaíba CEP 59288-899, Brazil.
Physiotherapy Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, RN, Natal CEP 59078-970, Brazil.
Brain Sci. 2025 Apr 28;15(5):469. doi: 10.3390/brainsci15050469.
Simultaneous eye tracking and cerebral hemodynamic monitoring contribute to the understanding of neural responses to stimuli in infants. However, exploring the impact of complex socioeconomic and environmental adversities on neurodevelopment requires transitioning this tool from research laboratories into clinical practice to evaluate its feasibility in outpatient contexts.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to present a protocol for simultaneously integrating functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with eye tracking (ET) in infants at risk for neurodevelopmental disorders in a clinical setting with limited resources, during a cognitive task.
The protocol was applied to infants in their first 12 months of life. The infants were exposed to tasks involving the processing of social and non-social stimuli, while their brain signals were monitored using fNIRS and their eyes were tracked with ET. The protocol included three main stages: (1) pre-collection, involving the preparation and habituation of the infants and equipment setup (fNIRS and ET); (2) cognitive function monitoring, using social and non-social stimuli to assess preferential processing via fNIRS and ET; and (3) post-collection, with guidelines for data pre-processing and analysis.
The application of the protocol allowed for the identification of technical challenges and the adaptation of procedures for clinical use. The main methodological challenges were difficulty using the conventional cap, excessive movement, synchronization issues between fNIRS and ET, and difficulties calibrating both devices across different age groups.
The standardization proposed in this protocol enables healthcare professionals to explore different neurocognitive aspects in pediatric clinical settings and expands the scope of neurodevelopmental assessments.
同时进行眼动追踪和脑血流动力学监测有助于理解婴儿对刺激的神经反应。然而，探索复杂的社会经济和环境逆境对神经发育的影响需要将该工具从研究实验室应用到临床实践中，以评估其在门诊环境中的可行性。
背景/目的：本研究旨在提出一种方案，在资源有限的临床环境中，在认知任务期间，将功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）与眼动追踪（ET）同时应用于有神经发育障碍风险的婴儿。
该方案应用于出生后12个月内的婴儿。婴儿在接触涉及社会和非社会刺激处理的任务时，通过fNIRS监测其脑信号，并用ET追踪其眼睛。该方案包括三个主要阶段：（1）采集前，包括婴儿的准备和习惯化以及设备设置（fNIRS和ET）；（2）认知功能监测，使用社会和非社会刺激通过fNIRS和ET评估优先处理情况；（3）采集后，提供数据预处理和分析指南。
该方案的应用有助于识别技术挑战并调整临床使用程序。主要方法学挑战包括使用传统头帽困难、运动过度、fNIRS和ET之间的同步问题以及在不同年龄组校准这两种设备的困难。
本方案中提出的标准化使医疗保健专业人员能够在儿科临床环境中探索不同的神经认知方面，并扩大神经发育评估的范围。
