Combined low-frequency EEG and NIRS during hypoxia

Electroencephalography (EEG) and cerebral near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) are both well-known monitoring methods to quantify cerebral neurophysiology and hemodynamics states of the brain. A stable regulatory system operates to guarantee sufficient spatial and temporal distribution of energy substrates for ongoing neuronal activity. Most EEG signals are associated with the neural activity of an enormous number of neurons that are interconnected and firing concurrently. The conventional EEG bandwidth is 0.16Hz to 70Hz. In this study, the EEG recording bandwidth is extended in low frequency (0.016Hz to 70Hz) by using a novel EEG amplifier. We aimed to investigate the low-frequency EEG and brain tissue deoxygenation by using novel multi-modal measurements. We used combined NIRS and EEG measurements for estimating the electrophysiological activity and hemodynamic changes in the adult human forehead during a hypoxic breathing condition. For the experiment, an altitude simulation kit was used to restrict the concentration of oxygen in the air that was inhaled by the subjects. The hypoxic breathing conditions led to variations in CO2 concentration (pCO2). Prolong (low-frequency) EEG signal shift, accompanied by an increase of deoxygenated hemoglobin during simulated hypoxic breathing were observed in this experiment.