TY - JOUR
T1 - Shining a Light on Awareness:
T2 - A Review of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy for Prolonged Disorders of Consciousness
AU - Rupawala, Mohammed
AU - Dehghani, Hamid
AU - Lucas, Samuel J. E.
AU - Tino, Peter
AU - Cruse, Damian
PY - 2018/5/22
Y1 - 2018/5/22
N2 - Qualitative clinical assessments of the recovery of awareness after severe brain injury require an assessor to differentiate purposeful behaviour from spontaneous behaviour. As many such behaviours are minimal and inconsistent, behavioural assessments are susceptible to diagnostic errors. Advanced neuroimaging tools can bypass behavioural responsiveness and reveal evidence of covert awareness and cognition within the brains of some patients, thus providing a means for more accurate diagnoses, more accurate prognoses, and, in some instances, facilitated communication. The majority of reports to date have employed the neuroimaging methods of functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and electroencephalography (EEG). However, each neuroimaging method has its own advantages and disadvantages (e.g. signal resolution, accessibility, etc.). Here, we describe a burgeoning technique of non-invasive optical neuroimaging – functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) – and review its potential to address the clinical challenges of prolonged disorders of consciousness. We also outline the potential for simultaneously-acquired EEG to complement the fNIRS signal, and suggest the future directions of research that are required in order to realise its clinical potential.
AB - Qualitative clinical assessments of the recovery of awareness after severe brain injury require an assessor to differentiate purposeful behaviour from spontaneous behaviour. As many such behaviours are minimal and inconsistent, behavioural assessments are susceptible to diagnostic errors. Advanced neuroimaging tools can bypass behavioural responsiveness and reveal evidence of covert awareness and cognition within the brains of some patients, thus providing a means for more accurate diagnoses, more accurate prognoses, and, in some instances, facilitated communication. The majority of reports to date have employed the neuroimaging methods of functional magnetic resonance imaging, positron emission tomography, and electroencephalography (EEG). However, each neuroimaging method has its own advantages and disadvantages (e.g. signal resolution, accessibility, etc.). Here, we describe a burgeoning technique of non-invasive optical neuroimaging – functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) – and review its potential to address the clinical challenges of prolonged disorders of consciousness. We also outline the potential for simultaneously-acquired EEG to complement the fNIRS signal, and suggest the future directions of research that are required in order to realise its clinical potential.
KW - disorders of consciousness
KW - functional near-infrared spectroscopy
KW - electroencephalography
KW - motor imagery
KW - data fusion
KW - brain-computer interface
U2 - 10.3389/fneur.2018.00350
DO - 10.3389/fneur.2018.00350
M3 - Article
SN - 1664-2295
VL - 9
JO - Frontiers in neurology
JF - Frontiers in neurology
M1 - 350
ER -