Investigation of Planning and Execution of Motor Skills in Healthy Adults using Simultaneous Near Infrared Spectroscopy and Kinematics Study

NIRS is used in conjunction with kinematic studies to correlate the brain's planning and execution activity during and with arm movement in healthy adults. The prefrontal region of the brain is non-invasively imaged using a custom built continuous wave based near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) system. The kinematics of the arm using which the subject perform the task is recorded via a camera system. During the study, the subjects performed 30 sec of arm movement followed by 30 sec rest for 5 times, using both their dominant and non-dominant arm. The optical signal acquired from the NIRS system is processed to elucidate the activation and functional connectivity in the prefrontal regions. The kinematics data acquired is processed to determine the number of touches performed by the participants. The preliminary NIRS results indicate differences in activation between the task and rest conditions in the prefrontal cortex. Currently, the functional activity of the prefrontal cortex is correlated with the kinematics result, prior to performing further studies on motor cortex. The study has significant implication in elucidating the evolution in the functional activity of the brain during the physical movement of the arm, which can better aid physical therapists treating subjects with cerebral palsy.