ABSTRACT
This chapter summarizes the studies that have employed Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) for the assessment of some aspects of human response to pain. It presents a brief overview of the most accepted neuroimaging modalities for the study of brain response to noxious procedures. The chapter provides an overview of the most accepted neuroimaging modalities for the study of brain response to noxious procedures. fNIRS can measure changes in hemodynamics simultaneously across different sites of sympathetic innervations, such as hand, forearm, and face, as well as the cortex. Functional neuroimaging is a term used for the study of human brain function to understand the physiology, functional architecture, and dynamics of the brain. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) is another functional imaging technique widely used in pain studies. The fMRI blood-oxygen-level-dependent signal is correlated with changes in the local concentration of deoxyhemoglobin, which is the hemoglobin molecule that is desaturated with oxygen.
