FUNCTIONAL NEAR-INFRARED SPECTROSCOPY APPLICATIONS IN DEVELOPMENTAL COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is known as a versatile and much promising non-invasive neuroimaging method extensively used nowadays in developmental cognitive neuroscience for measuring neural substrates underlying mental activity and processes involved in cognition, social interaction, and learning over the life span. This paper focuses on a summary of the basic principles of fNIRS technique concerning its design, implementation, and measurements. A detailed review of fNIRS strengths and benefits over other neuroimaging modalities is provided. One of the aims is to illustrate the fNIRS advantages by findings of recent studies from the wide variety of fNIRS applications: language, numerical cognition, executive functions, emotions, memory, motor functions, with a particular focus on neuroimaging in naturalistic environments. Moreover, the overview of recent implementations as well as future perspectives of fNIRS application in accordance with current trends in developmental sciences domain is considered: hyperscanning (simultaneous multi-subject measurements); multimodal measurements (combining several neuroimaging modalities in one research); neurofeedback trainings for enhancing cognitive functions in children and adults; use of interactive immersive stimuli and virtual reality (VR) in developmental cognitive neuroscience. Important limitations and challenges of fNIRS within healthy individuals in daily life settings are highlighted, as well as possible technical solutions and methodological procedures of their overcoming are discussed.