A functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based frontoparietal connectivity neurofeedback training method for cognitive functions promotion

An innovative approach which can promote cognitive functions effectively and efficiently is an urgent need for healthy elderly and patients with cognitive impairment. In this study, we proposed a novel functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based frontoparietal functional connectivity (FC) neurofeedback training paradigm related to working memory. Compared with conventional cognitive training studies, we chose the frontoparietal network, a key brain region for cognitive function modulation as neurofeedback, resulting in strong targeting effect. In the experiment, ten participants received three 20 min cognitive training sessions with fNIRS-based frontoparietal FC as neurofeedback, and the other ten participants served as the normal control (NC) group. Frontoparietal FC was significantly increased in the tested group (p = 0.005) and the cognitive functions (memory and attention) were significantly promoted compared to the NC group. Follow-up evaluations indicated that the training effect can last for over half a month. The proposed method shows great potential to be developed as a fast, effective and widespread training approach for cognitive functions enhancement and rehabilitation applications.