Innovative applications of fNIRS in brain and behavioral studies

Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) offers a unique combination of temporal resolution, ecological validity, and practical flexibility that complements and, in many contexts, surpasses the constraints of traditional neuroimaging approaches. fNIRS enables continuous, non-invasive monitoring of cortical hemodynamics with minimal susceptibility to motion artifacts — a critical advantage when studying populations and behaviors that are incompatible with conventional laboratory settings.Over the past decade, rapid advances in fNIRS instrumentation, signal processing, and analytical frameworks have expanded the range of questions that can be addressed with this technique. Wearable and wireless systems now permit data acquisition during naturalistic tasks, physical activity, social interaction, and real-world navigation, opening new frontiers in cognitive, clinical, and developmental neuroscience. Concurrently, the integration of fNIRS with complementary modalities — including EEG, eye-tracking, and motion capture — has positioned the technique as a cornerstone of multimodal approaches to understanding brain-behavior relationships.This Research Topic seeks to consolidate and advance the state of knowledge in fNIRS methodology and application, with a particular emphasis on innovative uses that push the boundaries of what is currently possible in both basic and translational neuroscience. We welcome original research articles, systematic reviews, methodological reports, and perspective pieces that address, but are not limited to, the following themes:• Methodological advances, including novel signal processing pipelines, artifact correction algorithms, channel optimization strategies, and machine learning-based decoding approaches applied to fNIRS data;• Studies of executive function, working memory, attention, language processing, and decision-making; • Social and affective neuroscience, including hyperscanning paradigms that probe interpersonal neural synchrony during communication, cooperation, and emotional exchange;• Developmental and lifespan perspectives, with contributions investigating neural correlates of cognitive development in infants and children, as well as aging-related changes in prefrontal and sensorimotor function;• Clinical and translational applications, such as fNIRS-based biomarker identification in neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., ASD, ADHD), acquired brain injury, and psychiatric conditions.• Multimodal imaging approaches, integrating fNIRS with complementary techniques such as EEG, fMRI, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to enhance spatiotemporal resolution and enable causal investigations of brain function;• Neurorehabilitation and assistive applications, including fNIRS-based brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), neurofeedback, adaptive rehabilitation protocols, motor recovery, and real-time monitoring of functional reorganization during therapeutic interventions. Topic editors: Joao Miguel Castelhano, Teresa Sousa, Arun Karumattu Manattu Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/81811/innovative-applications-of-fnirs-in-brain-and-behavioral-studies