ArticleNature human behaviour2025
Quantifying the impact of hair and skin characteristics on fNIRS signal quality for enhanced inclusivity.
Article in Nature human behaviour, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 17 papers.
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Who cites it
17 citing papers in PubMed.
- Sex-differences in resting state dorsolateral prefrontal cortex: comparing motion correction methods in resting state functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).Brain structure & function · 2026Article
- Emergent blink rate in early childhood is associated with neural origins of executive function.Communications psychology · 2026Article
- Increased attentional resources may be required to maintain standing balance under conditions of altered visual and somatosensory feedback among healthy adults.Experimental brain research · 2026Article
- Cortical neuromodulation by vibration-induced illusion of movement is observed in older individuals, but not in individuals with acute stroke: a cross-sectional fNIRS study.Journal of neuroengineering and rehabilitation · 2026Article
- Evaluating the reliability of functional near-infrared spectroscopy data in the context of a reasoning paradigm.Developmental cognitive neuroscience · 2026Article
- Disrupted functional connectivity during stroke recovery revealed via bedside optical neuroimaging.Neurophotonics · 2026Article
- Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in medical research: applications, opportunities, and challenges.Chinese medicine · 2026Review
- Advances in fully integrated wearable near-infrared spectroscopy: hardware innovations and biomedical applications.JPhys photonics · 2026Review
- Beyond behavior: a neurocognitive agenda for investigating the neural underpinnings of successful high-technology augmentative and alternative communication in adults.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2026Article
- DL-QC-fNIRS: a deep learning tool for automated quality control in functional near-infrared spectroscopy signals.Neurophotonics · 2026Article
- Who Participates in Research and Why: Reducing Barriers to Diversifying Samples in Developmental Psychobiology.Developmental psychobiology · 2026Article
- fNIRS in global child health research: insights from failure mode and effects analysis on a longitudinal project in Bangladesh.Neurophotonics · 2026Article
- Early Detection of Covert Consciousness With Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy.Annals of neurology · 2025Article
- The effects of protocol factors and participant characteristics on functional near-infrared spectroscopy data quality after stroke.Neuroimage. Reports · 2025Article
- Towards the use of functional near-infrared spectroscopy as an assessment tool in disorders of consciousness.Imaging neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.)Article
- Review of brain-computer interface technology in ophthalmology: Current status, challenges and future directions.Advances in ophthalmology practice and researchReview
- Hearing Aids Reshape Neural Processing of Emotional Speech Without Improving Emotion Perception.Trends in hearingArticle
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25 authors.
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Abstract
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a promising neuroimaging method owing to its non-invasive nature and adaptability to real-world settings. However, fNIRS signal quality is sensitive to individual differences in biophysical factors such as hair and skin characteristics, which can considerably impact the absorption and scattering of near-infrared light. If not properly addressed, these factors risk biasing fNIRS research by disproportionately affecting signal quality across diverse populations. Here we quantify the impact of hair properties and skin pigmentation, as well as head size, sex and age, on signal quality in n = 115 individuals. We provide recommendations for fNIRS researchers, including a suggested metadata table and guidance for cap and optode configurations, hair management techniques and strategies to optimize data collection across varied participants. This research will help to guide future hardware advances and methodological standards to overcome barriers to inclusivity in fNIRS studies.
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