Introduction: Anxiety is induced by a perceived threatening situation and can impair the decision-making ability and maintenance of attention on relevant stimuli. The pre-frontal cortex (PFC) has been implicated in anxiety through the multiple network theory however, the PFC’s role in anxiety is poorly understood. Implementing visual perturbations increases PFC activity due to increased attentional demands, which is observed in younger adults. Due to increased attentional processes produced from visual perturbations, cortical activity can be altered. Methods: Twenty healthy young adults performed three treadmill walking tasks, without visual cues, with visual cues and with perturbations. Cortical activity was recorded with a 22-channel, 18 optode fNIRS cap (Dual Brite MKII; Artinis Medical Systems, Netherlands). Anxiety measurements included the state-trait anxiety inventory (Spielberger et al., 1971) and heart rate variability (polar hear rate monitor). A Friedman rank sum test was performed to determine differences observed in heart rate variability RMSSD (HrvRMSSD) and mean oxyhemoglobin concentration change, among gait conditions. Mann-Whitney U tests were used to determine effects of trait anxiety on HrvRMSSD for gait conditions. Spearman rank correlations where ran between anxiety measures and PFC activity. Results: No significant condition effect on mean oxyhemoglobin concentration change (χ2 = 3.9, p = 0.14) was found. There was a significant condition effect for HrvRMSSD (χ2 = 17.2, p < 0.001). Post hoc analysis showed a significant decrease between baseline and stepping (p = 0.003, r = 0.17) and baseline and stepping varied (p = 0.02, r = 0.24). No significant trait anxiety effects found on HrvRMSSD during baseline (p = 0.15), stepping (p=0.20) and stepping varied (p=0.08), between low and moderate trait anxiety. No correlations were found between anxiety measures and PFC activity. Significance: The present experiment shows that PFC activity does not alter in young adults between a gait and visually perturbed gait. Further, we observed no significant change in PFC activity when anxiety, measured by HrvRMSSD, increased with gait condition difficulty. These results did not support our hypotheses, but the results will help inform protocol decisions of future investigations.

L’état attentionnel de l’opérateur est un des précurseurs de l’erreur humaine dans les systèmes complexes. Cela est particulièrement vrai en aéronautique, où la sécurité dépend en premier lieu de la capacité à réagir rapidement et correctement. Les niveaux de complexité associés à la gestion de tels systèmes aboutissent à des niveaux de charge mentale et d’engagement de l’opérateur en constante variation, qui peuvent être prédicteurs de sa performance. Ce projet de recherche adopte une démarche de Neuroergonomie, et vise à estimer l’état attentionnel en conditions écologiques par l’utilisation de mesures cérébrales. Nous avons tout d’abord étudié le comportement de l’opérateur soumis à des niveaux de demande extrêmes à l’aide de mesures cérébrales et psycho-physiologiques. Les résultats de ces études nous ont conduits au développement d’un nouveau cadre théorique centré sur l’engagement de l’opérateur pour estimer son état attentionnel. De plus, nous avons étudié différentes techniques de traitement du signal de manière à rendre possible l’utilisation des mesures cérébrales en temps réel en situation écologique, en vue du développement d’interfaces cerveau-machine pour assister l’opérateur. / The attentional state of operators is one of the main reasons for errors during human control of complex systems, and controlling these errors is critical especially in aeronautics, where errors are directly linked to safety and lives might be at stake. In particular, excessively high or low task demands encountered during the operation of such systems result in varying levels of mental workload and engagement which are linked with the operator performance. This research project adopts a Neuroergonomics approach and investigates the use of brain measurement techniques to monitor the attentional state of the operator under ecological conditions. We studied the behavior of the operator under both excessively low and high task demands with the use of multiple physiological and neurophysiological measurement techniques. Our results show that it is possible to use such techniques to characterize the attentional state. We then analyze the potential of real time application for such techniques. We investigated signal processing and analysis tools to improve the real-time usability of brain signals in ecological conditions, and proposed solutions towards the development of brain computer interfaces for assisting the human operator.

Hintergrund: Die Aufmerksamkeitsdefizit-/Hyperaktivitätsstörung (ADHS) umfasst die klinischen Symptome Hyperaktivität, Impulsivität und Unaufmerksamkeit und besitzt eine große erbliche Komponente. Veränderungen des Dopaminstoffwechsels und des präfrontalen Kortex scheinen mit der Erkrankung assoziiert zu sein. Bekannt sind auch Defizite in exekutiven Funktionen wie Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung, welche gemeinsam als ein Endophänotyp der ADHS betrachtet werden. Solche sogenannten intermediären Phänotypen bilden möglicherweise ätiopathogenetisch sinnvollere Untergruppen von Krankheitsbildern als die Unterteilung nach den klassischen Diagnosesystemen. Zahlreiche Untersuchungen zu Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung bei ADHS finden Mittelwertsunterschiede im Vergleich zu gesunden Stichproben in behavioralen und hirnphysiologischen Maßen. Ein genetischer Polymorphismus (Val158Met) mit Einfluss auf die Synthese der Catechol-O-Methyltransferase (COMT) moduliert Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung bei Gesunden und Patienten mit ADHS. COMT ist ein Enzym, das den Abbau von präfrontalem Dopamin katalysiert. Das Valin(Val)-Allel ist mit einer geringeren, das Methionin(Met)-Allel mit einer höheren Verfügbarkeit von Dopamin in kortikalen Arealen assoziiert. Letzteres scheint die Funktion präfrontaler Hirnareale zu optimieren. Ziel: Es ist unklar, ob die beiden Prozesse Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung miteinander in Verbindung stehen, also einen gemeinsamen Endophänotypen bezeichnen, und ob ein möglicher Zusammenhang dieser beiden Funktionen durch Dopamin moduliert wird. Gegenstand der vorliegenden Arbeit ist, (1) die bekannten Mittelwertsunterschiede zwischen Patienten mit ADHS und gesunden Kontrollpersonen zu replizieren, (2) den Zusammenhang von Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung mit Korrelationsanalysen zu überprüfen, (3) den Einfluss des COMT-Polymorphismus auf Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung zu untersuchen und (4) festzustellen, ob der COMT-Polymorphismus die Stärke der Korrelationen beeinflusst. Die Fragestellungen 3 und 4 sind aufgrund der kleinen Stichproben als explorativ zu bewerten. Methoden: In die Auswertung aufgenommen wurden 45 erwachsene Patienten mit ADHS und 41 nach Alter, Geschlecht, Händigkeit, Intelligenz, Bildungsniveau und Kopfumfang vergleichbare Kontrollen. Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung wurden durch eine N-Back- bzw. eine Stoppsignal-Aufgabe operationalisiert. Als abhängige Variablen dienten als behaviorale Maße die Anzahl richtiger Antworten, Reaktionszeiten und Effizienz und als hirnphysiologische Parameter Konzentrationsveränderungen von oxygeniertem (O2Hb) und deoxygeniertem Hämoglobin (HHb) in präfrontalen Arealen, die mittels funktioneller Nah-Infrarot Spektroskopie gemessen wurden. Korrelationen wurden zwischen den Kontrollbedingungen (1-Back und Go-Trials) und zwischen den eigentlichen Bedingungen der Arbeitsgedächtnis- und Stoppsignal-Aufgabe (2-Back und Stopperfolge) berechnet. Ergebnisse: Kontrollen und Patienten zeigten hirnphysiologisch aufgabentypische signifikante Aktivierungsmuster, für das Arbeitsgedächtnis mehr ausgeprägt über dem dorso-lateralen präfrontalen Kortex (DLPFC), für die Antworthemmung mehr über dem inferioren frontalen Kortex (IFC). Fragestellung 1: Patienten zeigten im Vergleich zu den gesunden Kontrollpersonen signifikante Defizite in allen erhobenen behavioralen Maßen. Sie zeigten auch signifikant reduzierte Anstiege von O2Hb über dem linken und rechten IFC für Stopperfolge und eine statistisch tendenziell verringerte O2Hb-Konzentration im linken DLPFC für die 2-Back-Bedingung. Es fanden sich jedoch auch Defizite in den einfachen Kontrollaufgaben (behaviorale Maße und O2Hb während 1-Back). Nach einer Anpassung der Gruppen für die Unterschiede in den Kontrollaufgaben blieben die Gruppenunterschiede in den Aufgaben für Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung bestehen. Fragestellung 2: Nur bei den Patienten und nur für die behavioralen Maße zeigten sich signifikante positive Assoziationen. Die Effizienz während 1-Back korrelierte mit der Reaktionszeit während der Go-Trials, und die Effizienz während 2-Back korrelierte mit der Stoppsignal-Reaktionszeit. Diese beiden Korrelationen unterschieden sich statistisch nicht in ihrer Stärke. In den für die Unterschiede in den Kontrollaufgaben angepassten Gruppen blieb nur die Korrelation der Kontrollaufgaben tendenziell signifikant, die Korrelation von Effizienz während 2-Back und Stoppsignal-Reaktionszeit verschwand. Die Patienten zeigten erhöhte Impulsivität (erhoben mit einem Fragebogen), die positiv mit behavioralen Maßen der beiden untersuchten Prozesse korrelierte. Fragestellung 3: Für 1-Back (O2Hb in rechter Hemisphäre) und 2-Back (O2Hb in linker Hemisphäre) wurden statistisch tendenzielle COMT x Gruppe Interaktionen gefunden. Für 1-Back zeigten die Kontrollen mit dem Val/Val-Genoytp sowohl im Vergleich zu Kontrollen mit dem Met/Met-Genotyp als auch im Vergleich zu Patienten mit zwei Val-Allelen eine signifikant höhere O2Hb-Konzentration. Gleichzeitig wies die Analyse der Verhaltensdaten auf eine höhere Effizienz der Kontrollen mit Met-Allelen im Vergleich zu Patienten mit Met-Allelen hin. Für 2-Back zeigte der Val/Val-Genotyp der Kontrollen eine höhere O2Hb-Konzentration als der Val/Val-Genotyp der Patienten. Zusätzlich wies der Met/Met-Genotyp in der ADHS-Gruppe einen stärkeren Anstieg von O2Hb im Vergleich zu dem Val/Val-Genotyp in der ADHS-Gruppe auf. Die Analyse der Verhaltensdaten zeigte eine höhere Effizienz der Kontrollen im Vergleich zu den Patienten für die Gruppen mit einem oder zwei Val-Allelen. Für Stopperfolge zeigten sich signifikante COMT x Gruppe Interaktionen für O2Hb in beiden Hemisphären. Die Kontrollen mit Val/Met-Genotyp hatten höhere O2Hb-Konzentrationen als Kontrollen mit Val/Val- oder Met/Met-Genotyp und als Patienten mit Val/Met-Genotyp. Patienten mit Val/Met-Genotyp hatten langsamere Stoppsignal-Reaktionszeiten im Vergleich zu den Kontrollen mit Val/Met-Genotyp. Fragestellung 4: Die Korrelationen in Abhängigkeit der Stichproben und COMT-Gruppen zeigten unterschiedlich hohe und unterschiedlich gerichtete Korrelationskoeffizienten. Nur in der Gruppe der Patienten und nur für die Verhaltensdaten wurden positive Assoziationen für alle COMT-Gruppen gefunden, vergleichbar mit den Ergebnissen aus Fragestellung 2. Diskussion: Die behavioralen und hirnphysiologischen Unterschiede in den Aufgaben zum Arbeitsgedächtnis und zur Antworthemmung zwischen Patienten mit ADHS und Kontrollen replizieren gut die Ergebnisse früherer Arbeiten. Ausgehend von den Gruppenunterschieden in den einfachen Kontrollaufgaben muss aber überlegt werden, inwieweit Patienten mit ADHS auch in einfachen psychomotorischen Aufgaben bereits Defizite zeigen. Die Korrelation behavioraler Maße der eigentlichen Arbeitsgedächtnis- und Inhibitionsaufgabe in der Gruppe der Patienten, die allerdings die Assoziation der Kontrollaufgaben nicht überschritt, und die mit dem Anpassen für Unterschiede in den Kontrollenaufgaben verschwand, lässt Zweifel an dem spezifischen Zusammenhang der beiden Prozesse bei ADHS aufkommen. Zudem werfen die positiven Assoziationen dieser Prozesse (behaviorale Maße) mit der Impulsivität (Fragebogen) die Frage auf, ob es sich um die Operationalisierung des gleichen Konstrukts handelt bzw. ob Impulsivität in Form behavioraler Tests das Gleiche misst wie Impulsivität auf symptomatischer Ebene. Ein Faktor, der möglicherweise Einfluss auf die Korrelationen zwischen den Aufgaben hat, könnte der Dopamingehalt sein, wie er in der vorliegenden Arbeit durch den COMT Polymorphismus operationalisiert wurde. Die Ergebnisse der COMT x Gruppe Interaktionen zeigten eine erhöhte O2Hb-Konzentration der Val-Allelträger der Kontrollen für die N-Back-Aufgaben bei teilweise besserer Effizienz und eine erhöhte O2Hb-Konzentration und teilweise schnellere Stoppsignal-Reaktionszeit der Val/Met-Allelträger der Kontrollen bei Stopperfolgen. Unsere Ergebnisse entsprechen nicht unbedingt den Annahmen aus der Literatur, dass das Met-Allel das günstige Allel in Bezug auf gute präfrontale Hirnfunktion sei. Diese Unterschiede in den COMT x Gruppe Interaktionen legen eine Abhängigkeit präfrontaler Hirnfunktionen vom allgemeinen dopaminergen Gehalt (Patienten vs. Kontrollen), vom präfrontalen dopaminergen Niveau (COMT-Genotyp) und von der Aufgabenart (Arbeitsgedächtnis vs. Antworthemmung) nahe. Diese Hypothese wird unterstützt durch die Unterschiede in den Korrelationskoeffizienten der beiden Prozesse in Abhängigkeit der Stichproben und Genotyp-Gruppen. Schlussfolgerung: Die Befunde stützen nicht die Annahme, dass es sich bei Arbeitsgedächtnis und Antworthemmung um zusammenhängende Funktionen bei ADHS oder Gesunden handelt, oder dass der exekutive Endophänotyp einen einheitlichen Subtyp der ADHS darstellt. Zudem scheint eine mögliche Assoziation der beiden Prozesse von mehreren Faktoren wie z. B. der Dopamin-Konzentration moduliert zu werden. Zukünftige Arbeiten sollten die Fragestellungen bearbeiten, welche Faktoren den Zusammenhang dieser Prozesse beeinflussen und welche Kombination solcher Faktoren eine Subgruppe von Patienten mit ADHS mit einem gemeinsamen exekutiven Endophänotyp darstellen könnten. / Objective: The highly heritable psychiatric disease Attention Deficit-/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is characterized by symptoms of hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. The pathophysiology seems to involve alterations in the dopaminergic neurotransmitter system as well as changes in the prefrontal cortex. Working memory and response inhibition are two executive functions that have repeatedly been found to be deficient in ADHD patients, and have therefore been proposed as potential endophenotypes of the disease. Such so called intermediate phenotypes are thought to be more closely related to aetiopathogenetic factors than subtypes defined according to the classical diagnostic systems. Many studies have shown mean group differences for working memory and response inhibition in ADHD samples as compared to healthy control groups, both with respect to behavioural and brain imaging variables. A genetic polymorphism (Val158Met) in the gene coding for the enzyme catechol O methyltransferase (COMT) modulates working memory and response inhibition functions in controls and patients with ADHD. COMT catalyzes the degradation of prefrontal dopamine. The valine(val-)allele is associated with a low, the methionine(met-)allele with a high level of dopamine in cortical areas. The met-allele seems to be beneficial for prefrontal functions. Aim: It is an open question, if the two processes of working memory and response inhibition are associated, i. e. if they characterize the same endophenotype, and if a possible association of these processes is modulated by dopamine. The present work aims at (1) replicating previously shown mean group differences, (2) analyzing the association of working memory and response inhibition in a correlational analyses, (3) investigating the influence of COMT on working memory and response inhibition, and (4) measuring the influence of COMT on the strength of the correlations between the two processes of working memory and response inhibition. Questions 3 and 4 are indicated as exploratory analyses due to small sample sizes. Methods: 45 adult patients with ADHD und 41 healthy controls were included in the analyses. The two groups were comparable for age, gender, handedness, intelligence, education level, and head perimeter. Working memory and response inhibition were operationalized by an n-back and a stop signal task. Behavioural dependent variables were the number of correct answers, reaction times, and efficiency. Dependent physiological parameters were concentration changes of oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated haemoglobin (HHb) in prefrontal cortical areas as assessed by functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Correlations were calculated between control conditions (1-back und go-trials) and between the active conditions of the working memory and response inhibition tasks (2-back und successful stop signals). Results: Controls and patients showed task-specific significant activation patterns, for working memory over dorso-lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and for response inhibition over inferior frontal cortex (IFC). Question 1: Compared to the control sample, patients had deficits in all behavioural parameters. They also showed significantly reduced increases in O2Hb in bilateral IFC for successful stop trials, and a statistical trend for a reduced increase in the left DLPFC for the 2-back condition. Furthermore, deficits were found in the simple control tasks (behavioural parameters and O2Hb during 1-back). After matching of the groups for differences in control tasks, group differences remained significant for tasks of working memory and response inhibition. Question 2: Significant positive associations were found only for the patients and only for behavioural variables. Efficiency during 1-back correlated with reaction time during go-trials, and efficiency during 2-back correlated with stop signal reaction time, with no statistical difference between the strength of these correlations. Only the correlation of the control tasks remained significant as a trend after matching of the groups for differences in the control tasks. The significant correlation of efficiency during 2-back und stop signal reaction time disappeared. Patients showed an elevated impulsivity (assessed by a questionnaire) correlating positively with behavioural measures of both tasks. Question 3: For the 1-back (O2Hb and right hemisphere) and 2-back condition (O2Hb and left hemisphere) COMT x group interactions were found as a statistical trend. For 1-back, controls with the val/val-genotype had higher oxygenation levels than controls with the met/met-genotype. Controls with val-alleles had higher O2Hb concentration changes than patients with val-alleles. Analysis of the behavioural data revealed higher efficiency for controls with met-alleles in contrast to patients with met-alleles. For 2-back, controls with the val/val-genotype showed higher oxygenation than val/val-allele carriers within the group of patients. Additionally, the met/met-genotype in the ADHD group had higher O2Hb changes than the val/val-genotype in the ADHD group. Behavioural analyses indicated higher efficiency in controls compared to patients for the groups with one or two val-alleles. For successful stop signals, significant COMT x group interactions were found for O2Hb in both hemispheres. Controls with the val/met-genotype had higher oxygenation than controls with the val/val- or met/met-genotype, and than patients with the val/met-genotype. Patients with the val/met-genotype had slower stop signal reaction times as compared to controls with the val/met-genotype. Question 4: Correlations showed differences in strength and direction depending on samples and COMT groups. Only for the patients and only for behavioral variables significant positive associations were found for all COMT groups, comparable to the results of question 2. Discussion: The behavioural and physiological differences observed between patients with ADHD and controls replicate previous findings. Considering differences in control tasks, it is an important issue for future research to investigate group differences in simple psychomotor tasks. The correlation for behavioural measures of working memory and response inhibition in the group of patients, which did not exceed the association of behavioural measures for the control tasks, and which disappeared after matching of groups for differences in control tasks, raises doubts regarding the hypothesis of a specific association of these two processes in ADHD. Considering the correlation of these processes (behavioural measures) with impulsivity (questionnaire), the question arises, whether impulsivity in terms of behavioural task measures reflects the same construct as impulsivity at a symptomatic level. One factor that might potentially influence correlations between tasks could be the level of extracellular prefrontal dopamine, as indicated by the COMT polymorphism in the present investigation. Results of the COMT x group interactions revealed an increased oxygenation and to some extent increased efficiency of the controls with val-allels for the n-back tasks and an increased oxygenation and to some extent a fastened stop signal reaction time of the controls with val/met-genotype. Our results do not correspond to the assumptions from literature indicating an association of the met allele with beneficial prefrontal functions. Differences in COMT x group interactions suggest that prefrontal functions depend on general dopaminergic level (patients vs. controls), on prefrontal dopaminergic level (COMT genotype), and on task type (working memory vs. response inhibition). This hypothesis is supported by the differences in correlations of both processes in dependence of sample and genotype group. Conclusion: Our findings do not directly support the assumption, that working memory and response inhibition are associated functions in patients with ADHD or controls, or that the executive phenotype is one integrative subtype of ADHD. Furthermore, a possible association of both functions seems to depend on several factors, e. g. dopaminergic level as shown in the current investigation. Future investigations should address the open questions as to which factors influence this association and what combinations of such factors might constitute a subgroup of patients with ADHD with an integrative executive endophenotype.

Einführung. In der vorliegenden Studie untersuchten wir durch funktionelle Nahinfrarotspektroskopie (fNIRS) präfrontale Hirnoxygenierung während Ableistung von Sprachaufgaben. FNIRS weist über Bestimmung von Konzentrationsunterschieden von sauerstoffbeladenes (OxyHb) und sauerstofffreies Hämoglobin (DeoxyHb) regionale Blutflussänderungen nach und lässt somit validen Rückschluss auf Hirnaktivität zu. Bereits in früheren Studien konnte nachgewiesen werden, dass Patienten mit Alkoholkrankheit verminderte präfrontale Hirnaktivität zeigen. Teil 2 der Studie untersucht den im Untersuchungsgebiet liegenden Schläfenmuskel (musculus temporalis) auf Einflüsse auf die Methode fNIRS. Methoden. Wir verglichen 15 entgiftete Patienten mit Alkoholkrankheit (Patientengruppe, PG) mit passenden 15 gesunden Kontrollprobanden (Kontrollgruppe, KG)bezüglich deren Hirn- und Muskelaktivität während Ableistung Wortflüssigkeitsaufgabe (VFT; engl. Verbal Fluency Task). Bestimmte, insbesondere präfrontale Hirnareale wurden durch phonologische und semantische Testsaufgaben (TA´s), ebenso durch eine Kontrollaufgabe (KA), (Wochentag aufzählen) aktiviert. Durch EMG wurde während Durchführung der Aufgabe die Aktivität des musculus temporalis gemessen. Wir verwendeten zur Datenanalyse sowohl von fNIRS wie auch EMG eine 2x2x2x6 Varianzanalyse (ANOVA) mit Zwischensubjektfaktor „Gruppe“ und Innersubjektfaktoren „Bedingung“, „Seite“ und „Zeit“, gerechnet wurde dies für jeweils Oxy- und DeoxyHb sowie den phonologischen sowie semantischen Teil. Ergebnisse. Beide Gruppen lieferten eine vergleichbare Menge an Worten, Hirnaktivierung zeigte sich bei beiden Gruppen signifikant höher in den Testaufgaben (phonologisch > semantisch). Die PG zeigte verminderte Hirnaktivierung präfrontal im phonologischen, vergleichbare Hirnaktivität im semantischen Teil. Beide Gruppen zeigten vergleichbare Muskelaktivität, jeweils signifikant höher in den jeweiligen Testaufgaben. Es zeigten sich keine systematischen Assoziationen (Korrelation nach Pearson) zwischen fNIRS und EMG. Schlussfolgerungen. Insgesamt konnten vorherige Studien mit Nachweis niedrigerer präfrontaler Hirnoxygenierung bei entgifteten Patienten mit Alkoholkrankheit gegenüber gesunden Kontrollen bestätigt werden. Die Mehraktivierung beider Gruppen während phonologischer Aufgabe gründet in dem höheren intelektuellen Anspruch der Aufgabe, dies erklärt auch den Gruppenunterschied in speziell dieser Aufgabe. Durch eine vergleichbare Muskelaktivität der beiden Gruppen sowie fehlende Assoziationen zwischen fNIRS und EMG sehen wir keinen Einfluss von Muskelaktivität auf die Hirnaktivitätsmessung durch fNIRS. Auch eine valide Untersuchung von psychiatrisch kranken Probandengruppen wie Patienten mit Alkoholkrankheit ist hierdurch gut möglich. Die Studie befürwortet den künftigen Einsatz und weitere methodische Untersuchungen zur Messung mit fNIRS, einem validen, artefaktunempfindlichen, handlichen und relativ günstigen Messinstrument. / Introduction. In this study we examined prafrontal brain oxygenation using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while performing a speech test. Via changes of concentrations of oxygenated (OxyHb) and deoxygenated (DeoxyHb) hemoglobin fNIRS measures regional bloodflow mirroring brain activity. Former studies already showed that detoxified patients with alcohol dependency have lower prefrontal brain activity. In the second part of the study we investigate the temporal muscle, surfacing the measured prefrontal area, in reference to influence on the method fNIRS. Methods. We compared 15 detoxified patients with alcohol dependency (patient group, PG) with the same amount of 15 matching healthy controls (control Goup, CG) regarding their brain and muscle activity during performing a verbal fluency task (VFT). Spezific prefrontal brain areas were activated by executing a phonological and a semantical test task (TT), as comparison we led them perform a control task (CT), reciting weekdays. Via EMG we measured temporal muscle activity while passing the test. For data analysis for both measuring methods (fNIRS and EMG) we used a 2x2x2x6 Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) with the factors “group”, “condition”, “side” and “time”. We calculated these for both Oxy- and DeoxyHb as well as for phonological and semantical test. Results. Both groups announced a comparable amount of words, brain activity was significantly higher while performing th TT (phonological higher than semantical). The PG achieved less activity in prafrontal areas, only in the phonological part, not in the semantical. Both groups performed comparable muscle activity, however activated the temporal muscle more while performing the TT´s. Systematic correlations (Pearson) between fNIRS and EMG weren’t found. Discussion. Overall like in elder studies we could confirm lower prefrontal brain oxygenation on detoxified patients with alcohol dependency compared to matching controls. Reaching higher activity during the phonological task is defined by the exercises higher level of difficulty, which also explains the difference of group result in especially this test. As muscle activity was comparable between the two groups, we couldn’t find associations between fNIRS and EMG. Thus we don’t see muscle activity interfering with the measurement of brain activity using fNIRS. Also this method proofs reliable and valid being used in subjects with psychiatric illnesses like alcohol dependency. This study supports the future Use just like further methodical investigations of fNIRS, a method nonsensitive to artifacts.

How do infants learn the sounds of their native language? Do they need to use general-auditory or language-specific mechanisms to make sense of the distributional nature of their phonetic input? To answer this question, this study investigated the neural correlates of phonetic discrimination in monolingual and bilingual infants (2-6 and 10-14 months) and adults using a new lens afforded by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging. All participants heard syllables phonetically contrastive in their native English and Hindi (non-native) in an oddball paradigm while being imaged with fNIRS. Age comparisons of infant brain activation in multiple sites revealed that left Broca‟s area showed a developmental decline in response to native-language experience only. Bilateral STG showed robust recruitment at both ages in response to both stimulus languages. These findings were robust across monolinguals and bilinguals. Together, the results suggest that all infants use neural tissue predisposed for linguistic-phonetic processing in early life.

How do infants learn the sounds of their native language? Do they need to use general-auditory or language-specific mechanisms to make sense of the distributional nature of their phonetic input? To answer this question, this study investigated the neural correlates of phonetic discrimination in monolingual and bilingual infants (2-6 and 10-14 months) and adults using a new lens afforded by functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) neuroimaging. All participants heard syllables phonetically contrastive in their native English and Hindi (non-native) in an oddball paradigm while being imaged with fNIRS. Age comparisons of infant brain activation in multiple sites revealed that left Broca‟s area showed a developmental decline in response to native-language experience only. Bilateral STG showed robust recruitment at both ages in response to both stimulus languages. These findings were robust across monolinguals and bilinguals. Together, the results suggest that all infants use neural tissue predisposed for linguistic-phonetic processing in early life.

As the popularity of digitally based communication devices increases, so does the propensity for individuals to find clever ways to convey messages in a shorter amount of space and time. Often, individuals use word or phrase shortening techniques known collectively as text-speak. A majority of investigations into the topic of text-speak have only focused on the potential impact text-speak may have on literacy or scholastic achievement (Crystal, 2008; Pinker 1994; Thurlow, 2003). However, there is a void in empirical investigation into how individuals create text-speak and more importantly how they process it (Farrell & Lyddy, 2012). The primary aim of this dissertation is to systematically investigate text-speak using various methodological techniques to gain a better understanding of how people create text-speak and explore how it elicits meaningful comprehension. An additional aim of this dissertation is to determine whether processing text-speak comes at a cognitive cost.

Motion artifacts are often a significant component of the measured signal in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) experiments. A variety of methods have been proposed to address this issue, including principal component analyses (PCA), Kalman filtering, correlation-based signal improvement (CBSI), wavelet filtering, spline interpolation, and autoregressive algorithms. The efficacy of these techniques has been compared using simulated data; however, our understanding of how these techniques fare when dealing with task-based cognitive data is limited. Recently, Brigadoi et al. (2014) quantitatively compared 6 motion correction techniques in a sample of adult data measured during a simple cognitive task. Wavelet filtering showed the most promise as an optimal technique for motion correction. Because fNIRS is often used with infants and young children, it is critical to evaluate the effectiveness of motion correction techniques directly with data from these age groups. Here we examined which techniques are most effective with data from young children. The efficacy of each technique was compared quantitatively using objective metrics related to the physiological properties of the hemodynamic response using two different sets of parameters to ensure maximum retention of included trials. Results showed that targeted PCA (tPCA) and CBSI retained a higher number of trials. These techniques also performed well in direct head-to-head comparisons with the other approaches using both quantitative metrics and a qualitative assessment. The CBSI technique corrected many of the artifacts present in our data; however, this technique was highly influenced by the parameters used to detect motion. The tPCA technique, by contrast, was robust across changes in parameters while also performing well across all comparison metrics. We conclude, therefore, that tPCA is an effective technique for the correction of motion artifacts in fNIRS data from young children.

Orientador: Rodrigo Vitório / Resumo: Introdução: Apesar dos correlatos neurais dos comprometimentos do andar associados ao envelhecimento não serem completamente compreendidos, estudos recentes apontam que idosos apresentam maior ativação do córtex pré-frontal (via indireta) durante o andar. Entretanto, os estudos existentes não consideram o processo de envelhecimento em um espectro mais amplo e, ao contrário, apresentam comparações limitadas a extremos de idade (adulto jovem X idoso). A compreensão da atividade neural do controle do andar no envelhecimento é importante para a identificação do momento em que as alterações inerentes ao envelhecimento afetam a atividade do córtex cerebral. Assim os objetivos deste estudo foram: (i) investigar os efeitos do envelhecimento na atividade do córtex pré-frontal (CPF) durante o andar usual, adaptativo e com tarefa dupla; e (ii) analisar a associação entre a atividade cortical e medidas do andar e de funções cognitivas. Materiais e Método: Noventa participantes foram avaliados, sendo 15 participantes sadios em cada grupo etário: 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, 50-55, 60-65 e 70-75 anos. Foram realizadas avaliações cognitivas, do andar e da atividade do CPF. Um sistema portátil de espectroscopia funcional de luz próxima ao infravermelho foi utilizado para o registro da atividade do CPF enquanto os participantes andavam em um circuito em três condições: andar usual, adaptativo (ultrapassagem de obstáculos) e com tarefa dupla. Um carpete com sensores de pressão foi posicionado em uma d... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: Introduction: Although the neural correlates of walking impairments associated with aging are not fully understood, recent studies indicate that the older adults present greater activation of the prefrontal cortex during walking. However, existing studies do not consider the aging process in a broader spectrum and, on the contrary, present limited comparisons to extremes of age (younger X older adult). Understanding the neural activity of walking control in aging is important to identify when the inherent changes in aging affect the activity of the cerebral cortex. Thus, the aims of this study were: (i) to investigate the effects of aging on the activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during usual, adaptive and dual task walking; and (ii) to analyze the association of cortical activity with walk measures and cognitive functions. Materials and Methods: Ninety participants were evaluated, with 15 healthy participants in each age group: 20-25, 30-35, 40-45, 50-55, 60-65 and 70-75 years. Cognitive, walking and PFC activity assessments were performed. A portable near infrared functional spectroscopy system was used to record PFC activity while participants walked on a circuit in three conditions: usual, adaptive (obstacle avoidance) and dual task walking. A carpet with pressure sensors was positioned in one of the straight lines of the circuit to record walk parameters. ANCOVAs were used to analyze differences in oxyhemoglobin concentrations between groups and conditions; Two-way ... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Mestre

In many regions worldwide, older adults now form the fastest growing portion of the population. As such, aging research has seen tremendous growth in recent years, with a focus on identifying early biomarkers of age-related disease. However, crucial to understanding age-related disease is to identify what constitutes normal brain aging, and the life-course factors associated with positive outcomes in later life. In support of this goal, the current dissertation is comprised of three manuscripts that aim to investigate the functional and structural correlates of normal aging in a sample of community-dwelling younger and older adults, from both a multimodal and multi-analysis perspective. Study 1: The first study examined how cumulative cardiovascular risk and self-reported levels of physical, social, and cognitive activity are associated with differences in hippocampal volumes in early and later adulthood. Results indicated that greater cumulative cardiovascular risk was associated with smaller hippocampal volumes across age cohorts. Moreover, a negative association found between frequency of social activities and bilateral hippocampal volumes in older adults, suggesting that social activities with a low cognitive load may not be beneficial to structural brain outcomes in older age. Study 2: This study employed novel advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to study fluctuations in the blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) signal in relation to age and markers of brain health. Specifically, the study examined the relationship between resting-state BOLD variability and markers of both vascular health and lifestyle activity levels. Results indicated that resting-state BOLD variability is increased in older relative to younger adults. The findings also suggest that the association between BOLD variability and lifestyle activity levels may differ depending on age. Study 3: The final study aimed to further investigate the origins of the BOLD variability signal by examining the feasibility of combining functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) with fMRI brain signal fluctuation data. In addition to providing proof of concept of combining fNIRS hemoglobin metrics with fMRI BOLD variability maps, the results of this study also indicate that the patterns of regional association between resting hemoglobin concentrations and BOLD fluctuations may vary according to age cohort. Together, the three studies comprising this dissertation illustrate the value of adopting a multimodal, life-course perspective in the study of normal aging. These findings also support increasing evidence of a relationship between the BOLD variability signal and age. Given the limitations of cross-sectional designs for demonstrating change over time, longitudinal investigations with larger sample sizes across multiple age groups are needed to further the development of public health measures aimed at promoting successful aging from early adulthood. / Graduate / 2022-12-08