Brain Functional Connectivity in Sensory Perception: fNIRS Study

This study uses functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to investigate brain functional connectivity dynamics during sensory perception tasks. Thirty-three participants performed the Necker cube task (evaluating rapid perceptual processing) and the Raven's Progressive Matrices task (evaluating sustained logical reasoning). We reconstructed functional networks from changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration using Network-Based Statistic (NBS) analysis. For the Necker cube task, functional connectivity in parietal regions decreases between the start and end of the task, accompanied by improved behavioral performance. This suggests an adaptation toward efficient processing strategies. In the Raven's Matrices task, the global clustering coefficient increases significantly with task complexity. Interregional analysis reveals strengthened occipital-parietal and parietal-frontal connectivity with increasing complexity while frontal-temporal connections are weakened. These results demonstrate adaptive functional network reconfiguration in response to cognitive demands, reflecting enhanced integration between bottom-up sensory and top-down executive control mechanisms as processing complexity increases.