Realtime Near Infrared Spectroscopy of the Frontal Lobe for Neurofeedback

描述（由申请人提供）：这个R21提案将开发和验证一个实时近红外光谱（NIRS）成像系统，该系统将允许受试者监测他们自己的额叶脑活动，当它发生时，为了学会调节这种活动。通过调节与药物渴望和药物寻求行为相关的额叶区域的活动，受试者可能能够学习减少药物渴望和减少复发概率的策略。背景：生物反馈教导个体如何调节通常被认为是在意识控制范围之外的自主身体功能，通过给他们即时和持续的反馈来反映他们通常无法察觉的过程状态。神经反馈是这一概念的延伸，即呈现给受试者的数量代表了目标大脑区域神经活动的测量。利用脑电图和实时功能磁共振成像的神经反馈显示出在增加注意力、增强乐感、改善模式和改变主观疼痛感知方面的效用。实时近红外光谱（rtNIRS）为高质量测量大脑额叶皮质活动提供了一种潜在的替代方法，这是与药物渴望和寻求相关的决策过程中重要的区域，具有良好的空间定位，高时间分辨率，以及相对便携和低成本的简单采集硬件。有意识地控制这一区域的大脑活动可以减弱导致复发的对药物的渴望。意义：神经反馈与rtNIRS有可能成为治疗药物滥用和预防复发的有力工具。rtfMRI的实时神经反馈已被证明在调节广泛的行为和感知方面是有效的。与rtfMRI相比，rtNIRS可能以更低的成本和更广泛的人群提供神经反馈的好处。具体目标：1)开发一种优化实时额叶神经反馈的光学头盔。靶设计将提供良好的双侧区域覆盖，并提供脑外血流测量，以便在分析期间对这些信号进行建模和去除；2)实现实时近红外光谱处理链。这一目标将简化我们现有近红外光谱系统的数据记录和分析过程，以便近红外光谱数据将在不到1秒的延迟内进行预处理和分析，并呈现给受试者；3)实施一个反馈系统，将大脑活动数据呈现给受试者。在这个目标中，我们将评估候选的神经活动的视觉表征，以帮助受试者训练。4)研究有意识地控制特定额叶脑区域的大脑活动的可行性，反馈包括区域激活的实时测量。额叶皮质执行神经反馈是否改变Go-NoGo和气球模拟风险任务的表现。我们将测试为实时功能磁共振成像和脑电图调节大脑活动提供一种补充方法，作为开发对抗药物滥用和复发的新治疗策略的目标的一步。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This R21 proposal will develop and validate a real-time near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) imaging system that will allow subjects to monitor their own frontal brain activity, as it happens, in order to learn to modulate this activity. By modulating activity in frontal regions associated with drug craving and drug seeking behavior, subjects may be able to learn strategies to reduce drug craving a reduce the probability of relapse. Background: Biofeedback teaches individuals how to regulate autonomic bodily functions normally considered to be outside of the realm of conscious control by giving them immediate and continuous feedback reflecting the state of a process that is normally not perceptible to them. Neurofeedback is an extension of this concept where the quantity presented to the subject represents a measure of neural activity in a target brain region. Neurofeedback using EEG and real-time fMRI has shown utility in increasing attention, enhancing musicality, and improving mod, and modifying the subjective perception of pain. Real-time NIRS (rtNIRS) offers a potential alternative method for high-quality measurement of frontal cortical brain activity, an area important in decision-making processes having to do with drug craving and seeking, with good spatial localization, high temporal resolution, and simple acquisition hardware that is relatively portable and low-cost. Conscious control of brain activity in this region could blunt the drug craving that leads to relapse. Significance: Neurofeedback with rtNIRS has the potential to become a powerful tool for treatment of substance abuse and prevention of relapse. Real-time neurofeedback with rtfMRI has been shown to be effective in modulating a wide range of behaviors and perceptions. rtNIRS could potentially offer the benefits of neurofeedback at much lower cost and in a wider range of populations than rtfMRI. Specific Aims: 1) Develop an optical helmet optimized for real-time frontal lobe neurofeedback. The target design will provide good bilateral coverage of areas, and provide measurements of extracerebral blood flow to allow these signals to be modeled and removed during analysis; 2) Implement a real-time NIRS processing chain. This aim will streamline the data recording and analysis process of our current NIRS system so that NIRS data will be preprocessed and analyzed for presentation to the subject with less than 1 second latency; 3) Implement a feedback system to present brain activity data to the subject. In this aim we will evaluate candidate visual representations of neural activity for their ability to assist subject training 4) Investigate the feasibility of conscious control of brain activity in a specified frontal brain region with feedback consisting of real-time measures of regional activation. Frontal cortical executive whether neurofeedback alters performance on Go-NoGo and Balloon Analog Risk Tasks. Realtime NIRS will We will test provide a complementary methodology to real-time fMRI and EEG for modulating brain activity, as a step towards the goal of developing a novel treatment strategy to combat substance abuse and relapse. PUBLIC HEALTH RELEVANCE: The goal of this project is to develop and test a real-time near infrared spectroscopic (NIRS) functional imaging system to allow subjects to directly monitor, and as a result modulate, their frontal brain activity. The data from this exploratory study will be used to develop a novel and potentially important tool for training subjects to reduce drug craving and drug seeking behaviors.