Monitoring Local Regional Hemodynamic Signal Changes during Motor Execution and Motor Imagery Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

The aim of this study was to clarify the topographical localization of motor-related regional hemodynamic signal changes during motor execution (ME) and motor imagery (MI) by using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), as this technique is more clinically expedient than established methods (e.g., fMRI). Twenty right-handed healthy subjects participated in this study. The experimental protocol was a blocked design consisting of 3 cycles of 20 s of task performance and 30 s of rest. The tapping sequence task was performed with their fingers under 4 conditions: ME and MI with the right or left hand. Hemodynamic brain activity was measured with NIRS to monitor changes in oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) concentration. Oxy-Hb in the somatosensory motor cortex (SMC) increased significantly only during contralateral ME and showed a significant interaction between task and hand. There was a main effect of hand in the left SMC. Although there were no significant main effects or interactions in the supplemental motor area (SMA) and premotor area (PMA), oxy-Hb increased substantially under all conditions. These results clarified the topographical localization by motor-related regional hemodynamic signal changes during ME and MI by using NIRS.

Functional near infrared spectroscopy as a probe of brain function in people with prolonged disorders of consciousness

“…With regard to the MI task, our results are comparable with others, for instance Iso et.al . ( Iso et al, 2015 ) and Wriessnegger et al ( Wriessnegger et al, 2008 ) showed similar level of haemodynamic response to a imagery motor task from SMA and M1 respectively.…”

Suppressing Systemic Interference in fNIRS Monitoring of the Hemodynamic Cortical Response to Motor Execution and Imagery

“…Previous imaging studies have shown that the activity in SMA is directly related to movement output (Obrig et al, 1996 ; Christensen et al, 2000 ). It has been reported that the SMA is involved in motor preparation and is activated not only during ME, but also during the preparation and inhibition of movements (Kasess et al, 2008 ; Guillot et al, 2012 ; Iso et al, 2016 ). Some studies also suggest that MI requires a similar amount of time as the execution does (Guillot and Collet, 2005 ), implying that they are produced through the analogous computational steps in the brain (Hétu et al, 2013 ).…”

Shining a Light on Awareness: A Review of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness

“…Nevertheless, the authors were further able to show that, by solely studying HbO changes, motor imagery could be used to correctly classify a user’s intent ~80% of the time. Other types of motor imagery paradigms that have established significant hemodynamic signal changes with fNIRS include tennis arm-swinging motion ( 80 ) and a finger tapping sequence ( 81 ).…”