This PDF file contains the editorial “2015 List of Reviewers” for NPh Vol. 3 Issue 01

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a noninvasive neuroimaging technique that uses low levels of light to measure changes in cerebral blood oxygenation levels. In the majority of NIRS functional brain studies, analysis of this data is based on a statistical comparison of hemodynamic levels between a baseline and task or between multiple task conditions by means of a linear regression model: the so-called general linear model. Although these methods are similar to their implementation in other fields, particularly for functional magnetic resonance imaging, the specific application of these methods in fNIRS research differs in several key ways related to the sources of noise and artifacts unique to fNIRS. In this brief communication, we discuss the application of linear regression models in fNIRS and the modifications needed to generalize these models in order to deal with structured (colored) noise due to systemic physiology and noise heteroscedasticity due to motion artifacts. The objective of this work is to present an overview of these noise properties in the context of the linear model as it applies to fNIRS data. This work is aimed at explaining these mathematical issues to the general fNIRS experimental researcher but is not intended to be a complete mathematical treatment of these concepts.

Optical topography/functional near-infrared spectroscopy (OT/fNIRS) is a functional imaging technique that noninvasively measures cerebral hemoglobin concentration changes caused by neural activities. The fNIRS method has been extensively implemented to understand the brain activity in many applications, such as neurodisorder diagnosis and treatment, cognitive psychology, and psychiatric status evaluation. To assist users in analyzing fNIRS data with various application purposes, we developed a software called platform for optical topography analysis tools (POTATo). We explain how to handle and analyze fNIRS data in the POTATo package and systematically describe domain preparation, temporal preprocessing, functional signal extraction, statistical analysis, and data/result visualization for a practical example of working memory tasks. This example is expected to give clear insight in analyzing data using POTATo. The results specifically show the activated dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is consistent with previous studies. This emphasizes analysis robustness, which is required for validating decent preprocessing and functional signal interpretation. POTATo also provides a self-developed plug-in feature allowing users to create their own functions and incorporate them with established POTATo functions. With this feature, we continuously encourage users to improve fNIRS analysis methods. We also address the complications and resolving opportunities in signal analysis.

Photoacoustic (PA) tomography (PAT) is a hybrid imaging modality that integrates rich optical contrasts with a high-ultrasonic spatial resolution in deep tissue. Among various imaging applications, PA neuroimaging is becoming increasingly important as it nicely complements the limitations of conventional neuroimaging modalities, such as the low-temporal resolution in magnetic resonance imaging and the low depth-to-resolution ratio in optical microscopy/tomography. In addition, the intrinsic hemoglobin contrast PA neuroimaging has also been greatly improved by recent developments in nanoparticles (NPs). For instance, near-infrared absorbing NPs greatly enhanced the vascular contrast in deep-brain PAT; tumor-targeting NPs allowed highly sensitive and highly specific delineation of brain tumors; and multifunctional NPs enabled comprehensive examination of the brain through multimodal imaging. We aim to give an overview of NPs used in PA neuroimaging. Classifications of various NPs used in PAT will be introduced at the beginning, followed by an overview of PA neuroimaging systems, and finally we will discuss major applications of NPs in PA neuroimaging and highlight representative studies.

The brain is a complex ecosystem, consisting of multiple layers and tissue compartments. To facilitate the understanding of its function and its response to neurological insults, a fast in vivo imaging tool with a micron-level resolution, which can provide a field of view at a few millimeters, is desirable. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) is a noninvasive method for imaging three-dimensional biological tissues with high resolution (∼10  μm) and without a need for contrast agents. Recent development of OCT-based angiography has started to shed some new light on cerebral hemodynamics in neuroscience. We give an overview of the recent developments of OCT-based imaging techniques for neuroscience applications in rodents. We summarize today’s technological alternatives for OCT-based angiography for neuroscience and provide a discussion of challenges and opportunities. Moreover, a summary of OCT angiography studies for stroke, traumatic brain injury, and subarachnoid hemorrhage cases on rodents is provided.

The propagation of laser light in human tissues is an important issue in functional optical imaging. We modeled the thermal effect of different laser powers with various spot sizes and different head tissue characteristics on neonatal and adult quasirealistic head models. The photothermal effect of near-infrared laser (800 nm) was investigated by numerical simulation using finite-element analysis. Our results demonstrate that the maximum temperature increase on the brain for laser irradiance between 0.127 (1 mW) and 12.73  W/cm² (100 mW) at a 1 mm spot size, ranged from 0.0025°C to 0.26°C and from 0.03°C to 2.85°C at depths of 15.9 and 4.9 mm in the adult and neonatal brain, respectively. Due to the shorter distance of the head layers from the neonatal head surface, the maximum temperature increase was higher in the neonatal brain than in the adult brain. Our results also show that, at constant power, spot size changes had a lesser heating effect on deeper tissues. While the constraints for safe laser irradiation to the brain are dictated by skin safety, these results can be useful to optimize laser parameters for a variety of laser applications in the brain. Moreover, combining simulation and adequate in vitro experiments could help to develop more effective optical imaging to avoid possible tissue damage.

Optogenetics allows light activation of genetically defined cell populations and the study of their link to specific brain functions. While it is a powerful method that has revolutionized neuroscience in the last decade, the shortcomings of directly stimulating electrodes and living tissue with light have been poorly characterized. Here, we assessed the photovoltaic effects in local field potential (LFP) recordings of the mouse hippocampus. We found that light leads to several artifacts that resemble genuine LFP features in animals with no opsin expression, such as stereotyped peaks at the power spectrum, phase shifts across different recording channels, coupling between low and high oscillation frequencies, and sharp signal deflections that are detected as spikes. Further, we tested how light stimulation affected hippocampal LFP recordings in mice expressing channelrhodopsin 2 in parvalbumin neurons (PV/ChR2 mice). Genuine oscillatory activity at the frequency of light stimulation could not be separated from light-induced artifacts. In addition, light stimulation in PV/ChR2 mice led to an overall decrease in LFP power. Thus, genuine LFP changes caused by the stimulation of specific cell populations may be intermingled with spurious changes caused by photovoltaic effects. Our data suggest that care should be taken in the interpretation of electrophysiology experiments involving light stimulation.

Photobiomodulation or low-level light therapy has been shown to attenuate both acute and chronic pain, but the mechanism of action is not well understood. In most cases, the light is applied to the painful area, but in the present study we applied light to the head. We found that transcranial laser therapy (TLT) applied to mouse head with specific parameters (810 nm laser, 300  mW/cm², 7.2 or 36  J/cm²) decreased the reaction to pain in the foot evoked either by pressure (von Frey filaments), cold, or inflammation (formalin injection) or in the tail (evoked by heat). The pain threshold increasing is maximum around 2 h after TLT, remains up to 6 h, and is finished 24 h after TLT. The mechanisms were investigated by quantification of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), immunofluorescence, and hematoxylin and eosin (H&E) staining of brain tissues. TLT increased ATP and prostatic acid phosphatase (an endogenous analgesic) and reduced the amount of glutamate receptor (mediating a neurotransmitter responsible for conducting nociceptive information). There was no change in the concentration of tubulin, a constituent of the cytoskeleton, and the H&E staining revealed no tissue damage.

Global systemic effects not specific to a task can be prominent in functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals and the separation of task-specific fNIRS signals and global nonspecific effects is challenging due to waveform correlations. We describe a principal component spatial filter algorithm for separation of the global and local effects. The effectiveness of the approach is demonstrated using fNIRS signals acquired during a right finger-thumb tapping task where the response patterns are well established. Both the temporal waveforms and the spatial pattern consistencies between oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin signals are significantly improved, consistent with the basic physiological basis of fNIRS signals and the expected pattern of activity associated with the task.

This PDF file contains the errata for “NPh Vol. 3 Issue 01 Paper NPh-2016-0315-ERR” for NPh Vol. 3 Issue 01