Reliable Frontal Cortex Activity For An Oral Stroop Task Using Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

Abstract

Analysis tools such as HomER and NIRS-SPM for functional Near-Infrared systems are commercially or freely available; however, they are difficult for clinicians to use as an assessment tool. One barrier to their use is the reliability of a given functional test. Intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC) provide a measure of group and individual reliability. NIRS-SPM was extended with ICC to assess a two part modified Stroop task. The protocol was repeated once every two weeks over a period of one month. Changes in neural activity attributed to inhibition of distraction, show significant covariance to the protocol with moderate to strong reliability for the group, and moderate reliability for individuals in the medial and left frontopolar and dorsolateral cortex. In addition, as the inhibitory response increases, neural activity shows a decrease in these same areas. This methodology could be extended to aid clinicians for group and individual patient comparisons.