Significance Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), with its measure of delta hemoglobin concentration, has shown promise as a monitoring tool for the functional assessment of neurological disorders and brain injury. Analysis of fNIRS data often involves averaging data from several channel pairs in a region. Although this greatly reduces the processing time, it is uncertain how it affects the ability to detect changes post injury. Aim We aimed to determine how averaging data within regions impacts the ability to differentiate between post-concussion and healthy controls. Approach We compared interhemispheric coherence data from 16 channel pairs across the left and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during a task and a rest period. We compared the statistical power for differentiating groups that was obtained when undertaking no averaging, vs. averaging data from 2, 4, or 8 source detector pairs. Results Coherence was significantly reduced in the concussion group compared with controls when no averaging was undertaken. Averaging all 8 channel pairs before undertaking the coherence analysis resulted in no group differences. Conclusions Averaging between fiber pairs may eliminate the ability to detect group differences. It is proposed that even adjacent fiber pairs may have unique information, so averaging must be done with caution when monitoring brain disorders or injury.

中文翻译：

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在监测患有长期脑震荡后症状的人时，平均 fNIRS 区域一致性数据的影响。

意义 功能性近红外光谱 (fNIRS) 可测量 δ 血红蛋白浓度，已显示出作为神经系统疾病和脑损伤功能评估的监测工具的前景。fNIRS 数据的分析通常涉及对一个区域中多个通道对的数据进行平均。尽管这大大减少了处理时间，但尚不确定它如何影响检测受伤后变化的能力。目的 我们的目的是确定区域内的平均数据如何影响区分脑震荡后和健康对照的能力。方法 我们比较了任务期间和休息期间左右背外侧前额叶皮层 16 个通道对的半球间一致性数据。我们比较了不进行平均和对 2、4 或 8 个源探测器对的数据进行平均时获得的区分组的统计功效。结果 与对照组相比，当不进行平均时，脑震荡组的一致性显着降低。在进行相干性分析之前对所有 8 个通道对进行平均，结果没有组间差异。结论 光纤对之间的平均可能会消除检测组差异的能力。有人提出，即使是相邻的光纤对也可能具有独特的信息，因此在监测脑部疾病或损伤时必须谨慎进行平均。在进行相干性分析之前对所有 8 个通道对进行平均，结果没有组间差异。结论 光纤对之间的平均可能会消除检测组差异的能力。有人提出，即使是相邻的光纤对也可能具有独特的信息，因此在监测脑部疾病或损伤时必须谨慎进行平均。在进行相干性分析之前对所有 8 个通道对进行平均，结果没有组间差异。结论 光纤对之间的平均可能会消除检测组差异的能力。有人提出，即使是相邻的光纤对也可能具有独特的信息，因此在监测脑部疾病或损伤时必须谨慎进行平均。