The human execution/observation matching system investigated with a complex everyday task: a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) study.

The investigation of brain areas involved in the human execution/observation matching system (EOM) has been limited to restricted motor actions when using common neuroimaging techniques such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). A method which overcomes this limitation is functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). In the present study, we explored the cerebral responses underlying action execution and observation during a complex everyday task.

Exploring the Neural Basis of Real-Life Joint Action: Measuring Brain Activation during Joint Table Setting with Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.

Many every-day life situations require two or more individuals to execute actions together. Assessing brain activation during naturalistic tasks to uncover relevant processes underlying such real-life joint action situations has remained a methodological challenge. In the present study, we introduce a novel joint action paradigm that enables the assessment of brain activation during real-life joint action tasks using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).

Slow perceptual processing at the core of developmental dyslexia: a parameter-based assessment of visual attention.

The cognitive causes as well as the neurological and genetic basis of developmental dyslexia, a complex disorder of written language acquisition, are intensely discussed with regard to multiple-deficit models. Accumulating evidence has revealed dyslexics' impairments in a variety of tasks requiring visual attention. The heterogeneity of these experimental results, however, points to the need for measures that are sufficiently sensitive to differentiate between impaired and preserved attentional components within a unified framework.

Activation of the prefrontal cortex in working memory and interference resolution processes assessed with near-infrared spectroscopy.

Background/aims: The present study investigated cortical correlates of top-down processes in visual-object working memory with multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy.

Methods: The activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was investigated while performing an n-back task with sequentially presented task-relevant and task-irrelevant faces. The activation patterns in the PFC associated with working memory and interference resolution were examined in 20 healthy adults.