Schedule of Events | Symposia

Meet me in the Middle: Does fNIRS Resting State Activity Correlate with Line Bisection Performance?

Poster Session A - Saturday, March 29, 2025, 3:00 – 5:00 pm EDT, Back Bay Ballroom/Republic Ballroom

Hannah Kershner¹, Sinead Mukolo-Villegas², Karlie Souder³, Jasmine Clark⁴, Carole Scherling, PhD.; ¹Belmont University, ²Department of Psychological Science and Neuroscience

Functional near-infrared resonance imaging (fNIRS) is a novel brain imaging technique (Zhang, 2020) that warrants validation through replications of imaging findings, to establish tool capability. EEG is an example, and previous work revealed the Line Bisection Task as a predictor of left PFC alpha-asymmetry and a valid measure of approach-motivation (Nash, 2010). The current study partially replicated this study, examining rest brain-lateralization and executive-task performance in 34 undergraduates (22F; age (SD)= 19.91 (1.38); right-handers). Participants completed eyes-open and -closed resting fNIRS sessions (8X8 PFC montage), completed questionnaires (Rosenberg Self-esteem (SE) and handedness), and indicated subjective centrality on 14 lines for the bisection task. We hypothesized higher SE related to fewer marker movements and that higher left dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC) resting activity will correlate with higher SE and rightward bias. Results revealed an expected negative correlation between SE and marker movement (rs(34)= -0.361, p= 0.018). However, lateralized rest activity was inverted, with more right dlPFC associated with higher SE (rs(31) = 0.442, p = 0.013). No significance was shown between rest and line bias. Overall, results support Nash’s findings for behavioral outcomes, but not brain laterality. EEG and fNIRS provide different temporal and spatial resolutions, which could account for differential findings. While further replications are necessary to elucidate rest-activity and centrality judgements, the current study supports the use of fNIRS to probe brain activity and brain lateralization. Future studies should investigate cohorts with matured PFC (vs. emerging) and consider effects of handedness.

Topic Area: EXECUTIVE PROCESSES: Other