Testing Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy fNIRS for Measuring Brain Activity in Healthy Adults and Patients with Disorders of Consciousness in the Neuro-ICU

What this Trial Is About

Researchers are evaluating whether a non-invasive brain imaging method called functional near-infrared spectroscopy fNIRS can detect brain activity in healthy adults and patients with disorders of consciousness DoC in a neuro-intensive care unit Neuro-ICU. DoC include conditions like coma and minimally conscious state that occur after severe brain injury and make assessing awareness challenging due to impaired observable behaviors. This observational study aims to determine the feasibility of using fNIRS to measure brain responses during sensory and mental tasks in these populations. Participants wear a lightweight fNIRS headband on the forehead during a single session lasting about 30 to 45 minutes. They receive gentle sensory stimulation, listen to sounds or spoken sentences, and perform guided mental tasks such as imagining walking through their home or moving a limb. The study is conducted in two stages first with healthy adults to establish baseline brain responses, then with patients with DoC in the Neuro-ICU to evaluate the methods feasibility and obtain preliminary brain activity data. During the session, researchers measure changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin in the brain to observe hemodynamic responses associated with neural activity. Participants undergo assessments involving somatosensory stimulation, auditory processing, language tasks, spatial navigation imagery, and motor imagery. The main outcome is the task-evoked cortical hemodynamic response recorded during the single fNIRS session. The study does not involve treatment and will not alter medical care, focusing instead on gathering data to inform future research on assessing consciousness after brain injury.

fNIRS for Disorders of Consciousness