Comparative analysis of dynamic functional brain connectivity in attentional tasks as a function of ADHD symptoms using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in adults

• Grant number: 25/14925-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2025
• End date: September 30, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Humanities - Psychology - Cognitive Psychology
• Principal Investigator: Luiz Renato Rodrigues Carreiro
• Grantee: Luis Carlos Vieira Pereira
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde (CCBS). Universidade Presbiteriana Mackenzie (UPM). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

ADHD is characterized as a neurodevelopmental disorder with impairments involving alterations in attentional and inhibitory processes, resulting in varied cognitive profiles that still require more detailed characterization regarding their subprocesses, neural bases, and connectivity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a noninvasive neuroimaging technique, measures changes in the concentration of oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobins to reveal cortical activity. Previous studies conducted by this research group using fNIRS have identified brain areas with altered activity in individuals with ADHD associated with different attentional and inhibitory tasks. The present project builds on these studies and aims to comparatively analyze dynamic functional connectivity during temporal and spatial orienting attention tasks, using fNIRS in relation to clinical indicators of ADHD in young adults. For this purpose, data from 70 participants will be analyzed (including 48 from the candidate's previous study), supplemented by data collection from an additional 22 participants, totaling 35 participants in each group: Clinical and Control. fNIRS data will be collected during the performance of four specific attentional tasks focused on voluntary, automatic, temporal, and sustained attention. fNIRS analysis will be conducted using the functionalities of the Homer3 and POTATo toolboxes, both MATLAB-based. Dynamic Functional Connectivity analysis will be performed using the sliding window correlation (SWC) method. Mean activation levels per region and task will be compared between groups. (AU)