Motor Imagery Observed by fNIRS

Motor imagery (MI) is expected to activate brain areas related to motor functions, yet, the brain is constantly active to some extent leading to difficulties in differentiating MI from supposedly non-motor tasks. In this study, we use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to offer an objective and spatially precise measurement of brain activity during MI. The fNIRS findings of this study using our MI-based exercise framework with 15 healthy subjects indicate that casual imagination and especially relaxation do not induce an intense motor brain activation compared to active MI performance. Furthermore, dynamic visual cues for MI appear to enhance brain activation around the motor brain areas of the majority of subjects and MI training helps some subjects to activate their motor cortex. Future research may refer to our framework to validate the competence of stroke patients in MI-based motor rehabilitation.