Full head optical topography system

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Optical brain-computer interfaces hold significant promise as a non-invasive access modality for individuals with severe motor impairments. When there is increased neuronal firing in a region of the brain, the demand for oxygen increases. This translates into a change in regional blood flow and hence the concentrations of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin molecules. This link between neural activity and regional blood flow is known as neurovascular coupling. When light at specific wavelengths is introduced to the surface of the head, some of the light is absorbed by oxy- and deoxy-hemoglobin and some returns to the surface. The returning light can be measured with a photomultiplier. Due to neurovascular coupling, we can thus use light to infer the level of neural activity in a localized region of the brain. Our lab has pioneered numerous optical brain-computer interfaces in recent years, demonstrating the ability to decode drink preference, selected emotional states, mental arithmetic, and music imagery (singing a song in your head). Most recently, we have demonstrated the ability to differentiate mental activity from an unconstrained natural resting state. However, our research is limited to the study of the prefrontal cortex at present because our instrumentation cannot image over hair, is not comfortable for extended wear and has a limited number of channels. In this application, we are requesting a full-head optical brain imaging system which is critically needed to advance our research on at least 3 key fronts: (1) expanding the set of admissible mental activities, (2) improving the classification of brain activity, and (3) developing body-machine interfaces that combine multiple brain measurement modalities and/or peripheral nervous system signals. The requested equipment will feature prominently in the training of at least 10 graduate and undergraduate students directly from the applicant's lab, and at least another handful of students from the labs of close collaborators who have co-authored papers with the applicant's team on the topic of brain-computer interfacing.