Multimodální integrace signálů z fNIRS a EEG: synchronizace a zpracování dat

Abstract

This bachelor’s thesis examines the integration of electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) signals in monitoring brain responses to emotionally charged stimuli. The combination of these two non-invasive methods allows for the capture of both electro- physiological and hemodynamic activity in the prefrontal cortex, thereby providing a more compre- hensive view of emotion processing in the brain. The theoretical basis of this work is the assumption that positive stimuli are associated with relatively higher activation of the left prefrontal region, while negative stimuli are associated with higher activation of the right hemisphere, in accordance with the theory of frontal alpha asymmetry. The aim of this study was to design and validate a processing pipeline for the preprocessing and basic analysis of multimodal EEG and fNIRS data from the prefrontal region and to assess the relationship between brain electrical activity and hemodynamic response using experimental data. EEG data were analyzed using the frontal alpha asymmetry (FAA) index, while fNIRS data were evaluated based on changes in oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin concentrations and hemispheric lateralization parameters. The results of the study showed that no statistically significant relationship was found in the analyzed sample between frontal alpha asymmetry obtained from EEG and the lateralization of the hemodynamic response determined from fNIRS. Correlation analysis revealed only very weak asso- ciations, even after dividing the data according to the valence and intensity of emotional stimuli. At the same time, considerable interindividual variability in responses was observed. The contribution of this study lies in the development and validation of a procedure for processing multimodal EEG and fNIRS data during emotional stimulation. The study also provides a foundation for further research aimed at a more detailed evaluation of the relationship between the electrophysiological and hemodynamic components of brain activity.