The neurovascular couplings between electrophysiological and hemodynamic activities in anticipatory selective attention.

Selective attention is thought to involve target enhancement and distractor inhibition processes. Here, we recorded simultaneous electroencephalographic (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data from human adults when they were pre-cued by the visual field of coming target, distractor, or both of them. From the EEG data, we found alpha power relatively decreased contralaterally to the to-be-attended target, as reflected by the positive-going alpha modulation index. Late alpha power relatively increased contralaterally to the to-be-suppressed distractor, as reflected by the negative-going alpha modulation index. From the fNIRS data, we found enhancements of hemodynamic activity over the contralateral hemisphere in response to both the target and the distractor anticipation but within nonoverlapping posterior brain regions. More importantly, we described the specific neurovascular modulation between alpha power and oxygenated hemoglobin signal, which showed a positive coupling effect during target anticipation and a negative coupling effect during distractor anticipation. Such flexible neurovascular couplings between EEG oscillation and hemodynamic activity seem to play an essential role in the final behavioral outcomes. These results provide unique neurovascular evidence for the dissociation of the mechanisms of target enhancement and distractor inhibition. Individual behavioral differences can be related to individual differences in neurovascular coupling.

Recent Mechanisms of Neurodegeneration and Photobiomodulation in the Context of Alzheimer's Disease.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the world's primary cause of dementia, a condition characterized by significant progressive declines in memory and intellectual capacities. While dementia is the main symptom of Alzheimer's, the disease presents with many other debilitating symptoms, and currently, there is no known treatment exists to stop its irreversible progression or cure the disease. Photobiomodulation has emerged as a very promising treatment for improving brain function, using light in the range from red to the near-infrared spectrum depending on the application, tissue penetration, and density of the target area. The goal of this comprehensive review is to discuss the most recent achievements in and mechanisms of AD pathogenesis with respect to neurodegeneration. It also provides an overview of the mechanisms of photobiomodulation associated with AD pathology and the benefits of transcranial near-infrared light treatment as a potential therapeutic solution. This review also discusses the older reports and hypotheses associated with the development of AD, as well as some other approved AD drugs.

Regional heterogeneity of cerebral hemodynamics in mild neonatal encephalopathy measured with multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy.

BACKGROUND: Neuromonitoring at the bedside is the key to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of brain injury associated with neonatal encephalopathy. The current practice is to monitor the forehead using a noninvasive cerebral oximetry-it remains unknown to what extent cerebral hemodynamics in other brain regions is different to the frontal region. METHOD: A multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system was used to monitor neonates (n = 14) with fetal acidosis and mild neonatal encephalopathy at four brain regions (the frontal, posterior, left temporal, and right temporal lobes). The data were compared to delineate the regional difference in (1) cerebral hemodynamics and (2) pressure autoregulation. For both analyses, wavelet transform coherence was applied. RESULTS: We observed frontal-posterior heterogeneity as indicated by significantly lower coherence between these two regions (p = 0.02). Furthermore, areas with regional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-detected lesions showed greater hemodynamic variations compared to non-affected areas (p = 0.03), while cerebral autoregulation was not affected and showed no difference. CONCLUSION: Cerebral hemodynamics in mild neonatal encephalopathy is heterogeneous across different brain regions, while cerebral autoregulation remains intact. These findings indicate the robustness of the wavelet measure of cerebral autoregulation in this population, but need to be further investigated in the presence of severe injury. IMPACT: This proof-of-concept study is the first to investigate the regional difference of cerebral hemodynamics and autoregulation in mild neonatal encephalopathy. Study findings confirm that brain functions are complex in the developing neonatal brain and that cerebral hemodynamics are region specific in newborns with frontal-posterior heterogeneity among brain regions probed by multichannel NIRS. Regional MRI lesions were associated with differences across NIRS regional channels among the affected side. Cerebral autoregulation with multichannel NIRS is not affected by regional MRI abnormalities.

Alterted Adipogenesis of Human Mesenchymal Stem Cells by Photobiomodulation Using 1064 nm Laser Light.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Photobiomodulation (PBM) describes the influence of light irradiation on biological tissues. Laser light in the near-infrared (NIR) spectrum has been shown to mitigate pain, reduce inflammation, and promote wound healing. The cellular mechanism that mediates PBM's effects is generally accepted to be at the site of the mitochondria, leading to an increased flux through the electron transport chain and adenosine triphosphate (ATP) production. Moreover, PBM has been demonstrated to reduce oxidative stress through an increased production of reactive oxygen species (ROS)-sequestering enzymes. The aim of the study is to determine whether these PBM-induced effects expedite or interfere with the intended stem cell differentiation to the adipogenic lineage. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: To determine the effects of 1064 nm laser irradiation (fluence of 8.8-26.4 J/cm2 ) on human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs) undergoing adipogenic differentiation, the ATP and ROS levels, and adipogenic markers were quantitatively measured. RESULTS: At a low fluence (8.8 J/cm2 ) the ATP increase was essentially negligible, whereas a higher fluence induced a significant increase. In the laser-stimulated cells, PBM over time decreased the ROS level compared with the non-treated control group and significantly reduced the extent of adipogenesis. A reduction in the ROS level was correlated with a diminished lipid accumulation, reduced production of adipose-specific genetic markers, and delayed the chemically intended adipogenesis. CONCLUSION: We characterized the use of NIR light exposure to modulate adipogenesis. Both the ATP and ROS levels in hMSCs responded to different energy densities. The current study is expected to contribute significantly to the growing field of PBM as well as stem cell tissue engineering by demonstrating the wavelength-dependent responses of hMSC differentiation. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC.

Transcranial Photobiomodulation (tPBM) With 1,064-nm Laser to Improve Cerebral Metabolism of the Human Brain In Vivo.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: In our previous proof-of-principle study, transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) with 1,064-nm laser was reported to significantly increase concentration changes of oxygenated hemoglobin (∆[HbO]) and oxidized-state cytochrome c oxidase (∆[oxi-CCO]) in the human brain. This paper further investigated (i) its validity in two different subsets of young human subjects at two study sites over a period of 3 years and (ii) age-related effects of tPBM by comparing sham-controlled increases of ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO] between young and older adults. STUDY DESIGN/MATERIALS AND METHODS: We measured sham-controlled ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO] using broadband near-infrared spectroscopy (bb-NIRS) in 15 young (26.7 ± 2.7 years of age) and 5 older (68.2 ± 4.8 years of age) healthy normal subjects before, during, and after right-forehead tPBM/sham stimulation with 1,064-nm laser. Student t tests were used to test statistical differences in tPBM-induced ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO] (i) between the 15 young subjects and those of 11 reported previously and (ii) between the two age groups measured in this study. RESULTS: Statistical analysis showed that no significant difference existed in ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO] during and post tPBM between the two subsets of young subjects at two study sites over a period of 3 years. Furthermore, the two age groups showed statistically identical net increases in sham-controlled ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO]. CONCLUSIONS: This study provided strong evidence to validate/confirm our previous findings that tPBM with 1,064-nm laser enables to increase cerebral ∆[HbO] and ∆[oxi-CCO] in the human brain, as measured by bb-NIRS. Overall, it demonstrated the robust reproducibility of tPBM being able to improve cerebral hemodynamics and metabolism of the human brain in vivo in both young and older adults. Lasers Surg. Med. © 2020 The Authors. Lasers in Surgery and Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Anticipatory alpha oscillation predicts attentional selection and hemodynamic response.

In covert visual attention, one fundamental question is how advance knowledge facilitates subsequent neural processing and behavioral performance. In this study, with a rapid event-related simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near infrared spectroscopy recording in humans, we explored the potential contribution of anticipatory electrophysiological activation and hemodynamic activation by examining how anticipatory low-frequency oscillations and changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) concentration influence the subsequent event-related potential (ERP) marker of attentional selection. We found that expecting a target led to both a posterior lateralization of alpha-band (8-12 Hz) oscillation power and a lateralization of HbO response over the visual cortex. Importantly, the magnitude of cue-induced alpha lateralization was positively correlated with the nearby HbO lateralization in the visual cortex, and such a cue-induced alpha lateralization predicted the subsequent target-evoked N2pc amplitudes assumed to reflect attentional selection. Our results suggest that each individual's attentional selection biomarker as reflected by N2pc is predictable in advance via the anticipation-induced alpha lateralization, and such cue-induced alpha lateralization seems to play an important role in the functional coupling effects between the low-frequency EEG and the nearby hemodynamic activation.

Characterization of the functional near-infrared spectroscopy response to nociception in a pediatric population.

BACKGROUND: Near-infrared spectroscopy can interrogate functional optical signal changes in regional brain oxygenation and blood volume to nociception analogous to functional magnetic resonance imaging. AIMS: This exploratory study aimed to characterize the near-infrared spectroscopy signals for oxy-, deoxy-, and total hemoglobin from the brain in response to nociceptive stimulation of varying intensity and duration, and after analgesic and neuromuscular paralytic in a pediatric population. METHODS: We enrolled children 6 months-21 years during propofol sedation before surgery. The near-infrared spectroscopy sensor was placed on the forehead and nociception was produced from an electrical current applied to the wrist. We determined the near-infrared spectroscopy signal response to increasing current intensity and duration, and after fentanyl, sevoflurane, and neuromuscular paralytic. Heart rate and arm movement during electrical stimulation was also recorded. The near-infrared spectroscopy signals for oxy-, deoxy-, and total hemoglobin were calculated as optical density*time (area under curve). RESULTS: During electrical stimulation, nociception was evident: tachycardia and arm withdrawal was observed that disappeared after fentanyl and sevoflurane, whereas after paralytic, tachycardia persisted while arm withdrawal disappeared. The near-infrared spectroscopy signals for oxy-, deoxy-, and total hemoglobin increased during stimulation and decreased after stimulation; the areas under the curves were greater for stimulations 30 mA vs 15 mA (13.9 [5.6-22.2], P = .0021; 5.6 [0.8-10.5], P = .0254, and 19.8 [10.5-29.1], P = .0002 for HbO2 , Hb, and HbT , respectively), 50 Hz vs 1 Hz (17.2 [5.8-28.6], P = .0046; 7.5 [0.7-14.3], P = .0314, and 21.9 [4.2-39.6], P = .0177 for HbO2 , Hb, and HbT , respectively) and 45 seconds vs 15 seconds (16.3 [3.4-29.2], P = .0188 and 22.0 [7.5-36.5], P = .0075 for HbO2 and HbT , respectively); the areas under the curves were attenuated by analgesics but not by paralytic. CONCLUSION: Near-infrared spectroscopy detected functional activation to nociception in a broad pediatric population. The near-infrared spectroscopy response appears to represent nociceptive processing because the signals increased with noxious stimulus intensity and duration, and were blocked by analgesics but not paralytics.

Blind deconvolution for astronomical spectrum extraction from two-dimensional multifiber spectrum images.

Although advances in astronomical observation techniques and fiber optic technology have enabled two-dimensional (2D) multifiber spectrum images, astronomers often need one-dimensional (1D) spectroscopy to study physical and chemical properties of astronomical objects. Because of faint optical flux and light pollution, determining point spread functions (PSF) for large-scale multifiber spectroscopic telescopes is difficult. We propose a new optimal extraction method that uses blind deconvolution to extract 1D astronomical spectroscopy from 2D multifiber spectrum images without knowing the exact PSF. A comparison of the performance of our blind deconvolution extraction method and those of other extraction methods showed consistent results, indicating that the blind deconvolution extraction methodology is useful in analyzing 2D multifiber spectrum images and reducing fiber-to-fiber crosstalk without degrading the spectrum's resolution.

Light Reflectance Spectroscopy to Detect Positive Surgical Margins on Prostate Cancer Specimens.

PURPOSE: Intraoperative frozen section analysis is not routinely performed to determine positive surgical margins at radical prostatectomy due to time requirements and unproven clinical usefulness. Light reflectance spectroscopy, which measures light intensity reflected or backscattered from tissues, can be applied to differentiate malignant from benign tissue. We used a novel light reflectance spectroscopy probe to evaluate positive surgical margins on ex vivo radical prostatectomy specimens and correlate its findings with pathological examination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Patients with intermediate to high risk disease undergoing radical prostatectomy were enrolled. Light reflectance spectroscopy was performed on suspected malignant and benign prostate capsule immediately following organ extraction. Each light reflectance spectroscopy at 530 to 830 nm was analyzed and correlated with pathological results. A regression model and forward sequential selection algorithm were developed for optimal feature selection. Eighty percent of light reflectance spectroscopy data were selected to train a logistic regression model, which was evaluated by the remaining 20% data. This was repeated 5 times to calculate averaged sensitivity, specificity and accuracy. RESULTS: Light reflectance spectroscopy analysis was performed on 17 ex vivo prostate specimens, on which a total of 11 histologically positive and 22 negative surgical margins were measured. Two select features from 700 to 830 nm were identified as unique to malignant tissue. Cross-validation when performing the predictive model showed that the optical probe predicted positive surgical margins with 85% sensitivity, 86% specificity, 86% accuracy and an AUC of 0.95. CONCLUSIONS: Light reflectance spectroscopy can identify positive surgical margins accurately in fresh ex vivo radical prostatectomy specimens. Further study is required to determine whether such analysis may be used in real time to improve surgical decision making and decrease positive surgical margin rates.

Simultaneous multi-slice (SMS) acquisition enhances the sensitivity of hemodynamic mapping using gas challenges.

Hemodynamic mapping using gas inhalation has received increasing interest in recent years. Cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR), which reflects the ability of the brain vasculature to dilate in response to a vasoactive stimulus, can be measured by CO2 inhalation with continuous acquisition of blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance images. Cerebral blood volume (CBV) can be measured by O2 inhalation. These hemodynamic mapping methods are appealing because of their absence of gadolinium contrast agent, their ability to assess both baseline perfusion and vascular reserve, and their utility in calibrating the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signal. However, like other functional and physiological indices, a major drawback of these measurements is their poor sensitivity and reliability. Simultaneous multi-slice echo planar imaging (SMS EPI) is a fast imaging technology that allows the excitation and acquisition of multiple two-dimensional slices simultaneously, and has been shown to enhance the sensitivity of several MRI applications. To our knowledge, the benefit of SMS in gas inhalation imaging has not been investigated. In this work, we compared the sensitivity of CO2 and O2 inhalation data collected using SMS factor 2 (SMS2) and SMS factor 3 (SMS3) with those collected using conventional EPI (SMS1). We showed that the sensitivity of SMS scans was significantly (p = 0.01) higher than that of conventional EPI, although no difference was found between SMS2 and SMS3 (p = 0.3). On a voxel-wise level, approximately 20-30% of voxels in the brain showed a significant enhancement in sensitivity when using SMS compared with conventional EPI, with other voxels showing an increase, but not reaching statistical significance. When using SMS, the scan duration can be reduced by half, whilst maintaining the sensitivity of conventional EPI. The availability of a sensitive acquisition technique can further enhance the potential of gas inhalation MRI in clinical applications.

On the optimization of imaging protocol for the mapping of cerebrovascular reactivity.

BACKGROUND: To devise an improved blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) imaging protocol for cerebrovascular reactivity (CVR) measurement that can remove a known artifact of negative values. METHODS: Theoretical and simulation studies were first performed to understand the biophysical mechanism of the negative CVR signals, through which improved BOLD sequence parameters were proposed. This was achieved by equating signal intensities between cerebrospinal fluid and blood, by means of shortening the echo time (TE) of the BOLD sequence. Then, 10 healthy volunteers were recruited to participate in an experimental study, in which we compared the CVR results of two versions of the optimized ("Opt1" and "Opt2") protocols with that of the standard protocol at 3 Tesla. Two sessions were performed for each subject to test the reproducibility of all three protocols. RESULTS: Experimental results demonstrated that the optimized protocols resulted in elimination of negative-CVR voxels. Quantitative CVR results were compared across protocols, which show that the optimized protocols yielded smaller CVR values (Opt1: 0.16 ± 0.01 %BOLD/mmHg CO2 ; Opt2: 0.15 ± 0.01 %BOLD/mmHg CO2 ) than (P < 0.001) the standard protocol (0.21 ± 0.01 %BOLD/mmHg CO2 ), but the CNR was comparable (P = 0.1) to the standard protocol. The coefficient-of-variation between repetitions was found to be 5.6 ± 1.4%, 6.3 ± 1.6%, and 6.9 ± 0.9% for the three protocols, but there were no significant differences (P = 0.65). CONCLUSION: Based on the theoretical and experimental results obtained from this study, we suggest that the use of a TE shorter than those used in fMRI is necessary to minimize negative artifact in CVR results.

Detecting positive surgical margins: utilisation of light-reflectance spectroscopy on ex vivo prostate specimens.

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy of light-reflectance spectroscopy (LRS) to detect positive surgical margins (PSMs) on ex vivo radical prostatectomy (RP) specimens. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A prospective evaluation of ex vivo RP specimens using LRS was performed at a single institution from June 2013 to September 2014. LRS measurements were performed on selected sites on the prostate capsule, marked with ink, and correlated with pathological analysis. Significant features on LRS curves differentiating malignant tissue from benign tissue were determined using a forward sequential selection algorithm. A logistic regression model was built and randomised cross-validation was performed. The sensitivity, specificity, accuracy, negative predictive value (NPV), positive predictive value (PPV), and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for LRS predicting PSM were calculated. RESULTS: In all, 50 RP specimens were evaluated using LRS. The LRS sensitivity for Gleason score ≥7 PSMs was 91.3%, specificity 92.8%, accuracy 92.5%, PPV 73.2%, NPV 99.4%, and the AUC was 0.960. The LRS sensitivity for Gleason score ≥6 PSMs was 65.5%, specificity 88.1%, accuracy 83.3%, PPV 66.2%, NPV 90.7%, and the AUC was 0.858. CONCLUSIONS: LRS can reliably detect PSMs for Gleason score ≥7 prostate cancer in ex vivo RP specimens.

Transcranial laser stimulation improves human cerebral oxygenation.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Transcranial laser stimulation of the brain with near-infrared light is a novel form of non-invasive photobiomodulation or low-level laser therapy (LLLT) that has shown therapeutic potential in a variety of neurological and psychological conditions. Understanding of its neurophysiological effects is essential for mechanistic study and treatment evaluation. This study investigated how transcranial laser stimulation influences cerebral hemodynamics and oxygenation in the human brain in vivo using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). MATERIALS AND METHODS: Two separate experiments were conducted in which 1,064-nm laser stimulation was administered at (1) the center and (2) the right side of the forehead, respectively. The laser emitted at a power of 3.4 W and in an area of 13.6 cm2, corresponding to 0.25 W/cm2 irradiance. Stimulation duration was 10 minutes. Nine healthy male and female human participants of any ethnic background, in an age range of 18-40 years old were included in each experiment. RESULTS: In both experiments, transcranial laser stimulation induced an increase of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration (Δ[HbO2 ]) and a decrease of deoxygenated hemoglobin concentration (Δ[Hb]) in both cerebral hemispheres. Improvements in cerebral oxygenation were indicated by a significant increase of differential hemoglobin concentration (Δ[HbD] = Δ[HbO2 ] - Δ[Hb]). These effects increased in a dose-dependent manner over time during laser stimulation (10 minutes) and persisted after laser stimulation (6 minutes). The total hemoglobin concentration (Δ[HbT] = Δ[HbO2] + Δ[Hb]) remained nearly unchanged in most cases. CONCLUSION: Near-infrared laser stimulation applied to the forehead can transcranially improve cerebral oxygenation in healthy humans.

Predicting N2pc from anticipatory HbO activity during sustained visuospatial attention: a concurrent fNIRS-ERP study.

Understanding the properties of attentional control, along with the neural mechanisms subserving them, has long invited intense scrutiny in research groups. However, it has not been demonstrated how the top-down anticipatory hemodynamic activation influences the subsequent attentional processing of targets and distractors. Here, with concurrent fNIRS-ERP recording, we explored the potential contribution of anticipatory oxygenated hemoglobin (HbO) based brain activity to attentional control by examining how HbO influences the subsequent ERP N2pc components assumed to reflect attentional selection. We found that expecting a target led to a larger increase of preparatory HbO response over the visual cortex contralateral to the upcoming target, which was positively correlated with the subsequent target-evoked N2pc amplitude. Further, anticipation concerning the presence of a competing distractor resulted in large and prolonged preparatory HbO signals in the visual cortex contralateral to the distractor, indicating that the salient distractor might be actively suppressed by preparatory top-down attentional control. However, the pre-suppressed distractor still captured part of the attention in the subsequent visual search as revealed by a decrease in the N2pc amplitude, and such a distraction effect on N2pc was negatively correlated with preparatory HbO enhancement contralateral to the anticipated distractor. Overall, each individuals attentional shift to the target and resistance to the distractor measured by ERP is predictable in advance via anticipatory hemodynamic activity in the visual cortex measured by fNIRS.

Depth-compensated diffuse optical tomography enhanced by general linear model analysis and an anatomical atlas of human head.

One of the main challenges in functional diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is to accurately recover the depth of brain activation, which is even more essential when differentiating true brain signals from task-evoked artifacts in the scalp. Recently, we developed a depth-compensated algorithm (DCA) to minimize the depth localization error in DOT. However, the semi-infinite model that was used in DCA deviated significantly from the realistic human head anatomy. In the present work, we incorporated depth-compensated DOT (DC-DOT) with a standard anatomical atlas of human head. Computer simulations and human measurements of sensorimotor activation were conducted to examine and prove the depth specificity and quantification accuracy of brain atlas-based DC-DOT. In addition, node-wise statistical analysis based on the general linear model (GLM) was also implemented and performed in this study, showing the robustness of DC-DOT that can accurately identify brain activation at the correct depth for functional brain imaging, even when co-existing with superficial artifacts.

Interleaved imaging of cerebral hemodynamics and blood flow index to monitor ischemic stroke and treatment in rat by volumetric diffuse optical tomography.

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) has been used by several groups to assess cerebral hemodynamics of cerebral ischemia in humans and animals. In this study, we combined DOT with an indocyanine green (ICG)-tracking method to achieve interleaved images of cerebral hemodynamics and blood flow index (BFI) using two middle cerebral artery occlusion (MCAO) rat models. To achieve volumetric images with high-spatial resolution, we first integrated a depth compensation algorithm (DCA) with a volumetric mesh-based rat head model to generate three-dimensional (3D) DOT on a rat brain atlas. Then, the experimental DOT data from two rat models were collected using interleaved strategy for cerebral hemodynamics and BFI during and after ischemic stroke, with and without a thrombolytic therapy for the embolic MCAO model. The acquired animal data were further analyzed using the integrated rat-atlas-guided DOT method to form time-evolving 3D images of both cerebral hemodynamics and BFI. In particular, we were able to show and identify therapeutic outcomes of a thrombolytic treatment applied to the embolism-induced ischemic model. This paper demonstrates that volumetric DOT is capable of providing high-quality, interleaved images of cerebral hemodynamics and blood perfusion in small animals during and after ischemic stroke, with excellent 3D visualization and quantifications.

Atlas-guided volumetric diffuse optical tomography enhanced by generalized linear model analysis to image risk decision-making responses in young adults.

Diffuse optical tomography (DOT) is a variant of functional near infrared spectroscopy and has the capability of mapping or reconstructing three dimensional (3D) hemodynamic changes due to brain activity. Common methods used in DOT image analysis to define brain activation have limitations because the selection of activation period is relatively subjective. General linear model (GLM)-based analysis can overcome this limitation. In this study, we combine the atlas-guided 3D DOT image reconstruction with GLM-based analysis (i.e., voxel-wise GLM analysis) to investigate the brain activity that is associated with risk decision-making processes. Risk decision-making is an important cognitive process and thus is an essential topic in the field of neuroscience. The Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) is a valid experimental model and has been commonly used to assess human risk-taking actions and tendencies while facing risks. We have used the BART paradigm with a blocked design to investigate brain activations in the prefrontal and frontal cortical areas during decision-making from 37 human participants (22 males and 15 females). Voxel-wise GLM analysis was performed after a human brain atlas template and a depth compensation algorithm were combined to form atlas-guided DOT images. In this work, we wish to demonstrate the excellence of using voxel-wise GLM analysis with DOT to image and study cognitive functions in response to risk decision-making. Results have shown significant hemodynamic changes in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) during the active-choice mode and a different activation pattern between genders; these findings correlate well with published literature in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and fNIRS studies.

Directed physiological networks in the human prefrontal cortex at rest and post transcranial photobiomodulation.

Cerebral infra-slow oscillation (ISO) is a source of vasomotion in endogenic (E; 0.005-0.02 Hz), neurogenic (N; 0.02-0.04 Hz), and myogenic (M; 0.04-0.2 Hz) frequency bands. In this study, we quantified changes in prefrontal concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (Δ[HbO]) and redox-state cytochrome c oxidase (Δ[CCO]) as hemodynamic and metabolic activity metrics, and electroencephalogram (EEG) powers as electrophysiological activity, using concurrent measurements of 2-channel broadband near-infrared spectroscopy and EEG on the forehead of 22 healthy participants at rest. After preprocessing, the multi-modality signals were analyzed using generalized partial directed coherence to construct unilateral neurophysiological networks among the three neurophysiological metrics (with simplified symbols of HbO, CCO, and EEG) in each E/N/M frequency band. The links in these networks represent neurovascular, neurometabolic, and metabolicvascular coupling (NVC, NMC, and MVC). The results illustrate that the demand for oxygen by neuronal activity and metabolism (EEG and CCO) drives the hemodynamic supply (HbO) in all E/N/M bands in the resting prefrontal cortex. Furthermore, to investigate the effect of transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM), we performed a sham-controlled study by delivering an 800-nm laser beam to the left and right prefrontal cortex of the same participants. After performing the same data processing and statistical analysis, we obtained novel and important findings: tPBM delivered on either side of the prefrontal cortex triggered the alteration or reversal of directed network couplings among the three neurophysiological entities (i.e., HbO, CCO, and EEG frequency-specific powers) in the physiological network in the E and N bands, demonstrating that during the post-tPBM period, both metabolism and hemodynamic supply drive electrophysiological activity in directed network coupling of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). Overall, this study revealed that tPBM facilitates significant modulation of the directionality of neurophysiological networks in electrophysiological, metabolic, and hemodynamic activities.

Simultaneous MEG and EEG source imaging of electrophysiological activity in response to acute transcranial photobiomodulation.

Introduction: Transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM) is a non-invasive neuromodulation technique that improves human cognition. The effects of tPBM of the right forehead on neurophysiological activity have been previously investigated using EEG in sensor space. However, the spatial resolution of these studies is limited. Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is known to facilitate a higher spatial resolution of brain source images. This study aimed to image post-tPBM effects in brain space based on both MEG and EEG measurements across the entire human brain. Methods: MEG and EEG scans were concurrently acquired for 6 min before and after 8-min of tPBM delivered using a 1,064-nm laser on the right forehead of 25 healthy participants. Group-level changes in both the MEG and EEG power spectral density with respect to the baseline (pre-tPBM) were quantified and averaged within each frequency band in the sensor space. Constrained modeling was used to generate MEG and EEG source images of post-tPBM, followed by cluster-based permutation analysis for family wise error correction (p < 0.05). Results: The 8-min tPBM enabled significant increases in alpha (8-12 Hz) and beta (13-30 Hz) powers across multiple cortical regions, as confirmed by MEG and EEG source images. Moreover, tPBM-enhanced oscillations in the beta band were located not only near the stimulation site but also in remote cerebral regions, including the frontal, parietal, and occipital regions, particularly on the ipsilateral side. Discussion: MEG and EEG results shown in this study demonstrated that tPBM modulates neurophysiological activity locally and in distant cortical areas. The EEG topographies reported in this study were consistent with previous observations. This study is the first to present MEG and EEG evidence of the electrophysiological effects of tPBM in the brain space, supporting the potential utility of tPBM in treating neurological diseases through the modulation of brain oscillations.

Neurovascular coupling in the attention during visual working memory processes.

Focusing attention in visual working memory (vWM) depends on the ability to filter distractors and expand the scope of targets. Although many properties of attention processes in vWM have been well documented, it remains unclear how the mechanisms of neurovascular coupling (NVC) function during attention processes in vWM. Here, we show simultaneous multimodal data that reveal the similar temporal and spatial features of attention processes during vWM. These similarities lead to common NVC outcomes across individuals. When filtering out distractors, the electroencephalography (EEG)-informed NVC displayed broader engagement across the frontoparietal network. A negative correlation may exist between behavioral metrics and EEG-informed NVC strength related to attention control. On a dynamic basis, NVC features exhibited higher discriminatory power in predicting behavior than other features alone. These results underscore how multimodal approaches can advance our understanding of the role of attention in vWM, and how NVC fluctuations are associated with actual behavior.