UCL Discovery
UCL home » Library Services » Electronic resources » UCL Discovery

fNIRS for tracking brain development in the context of global health projects

Blasi, A; Lloyd-Fox, S; Katus, L; Elwell, CE; (2019) fNIRS for tracking brain development in the context of global health projects. Photonics , 6 (3) 10.3390/photonics6030089. Green open access

[thumbnail of photonics-06-00089-v2.pdf]
Preview
Text
photonics-06-00089-v2.pdf - Published Version

Download (664kB) | Preview

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has emerged as a valuable tool to study brain function, and it is in younger participants where it has found, arguably, its most successful application. Thanks to its infant-friendly features, the technology has helped shape research in the neurocognitive development field by contributing to our understanding of the neural underpinnings of sensory perception and socio-cognitive skills. Furthermore, it has provided avenues of exploration for markers of compromised brain development. Advances in fNIRS instrumentation and methods have enabled the next step in the evolution of its applications including the investigation of the effects of complex and interacting socio-economic and environmental adversities on brain development. To do this, it is necessary to take fNIRS out of well-resourced research labs (the majority located in high-income countries) to study at-risk populations in resource-poor settings in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). Here we review the use of this technology in global health studies, we discuss the implementation of fNIRS studies in LMICs with a particular emphasis on the Brain Imaging for Global Health (BRIGHT) project, and we consider its potential in this emerging field.

Type: Article
Title: fNIRS for tracking brain development in the context of global health projects
Open access status: An open access version is available from UCL Discovery
DOI: 10.3390/photonics6030089
Publisher version: https://doi.org/10.3390/photonics6030089
Language: English
Additional information: This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Keywords: fNIRS; global health; infant brain development
UCL classification: UCL
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science
UCL > Provost and Vice Provost Offices > UCL BEAMS > Faculty of Engineering Science > Dept of Med Phys and Biomedical Eng
URI: https://discovery.ucl.ac.uk/id/eprint/10081054
Downloads since deposit
0Downloads
Download activity - last month
Download activity - last 12 months
Downloads by country - last 12 months

Archive Staff Only

View Item View Item