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Applied Sciences
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Optics and the Brain
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Optics and the Brain

A special issue of Applied Sciences (ISSN 2076-3417). This special issue belongs to the section "Optics and Lasers".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2020) | Viewed by 14568

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Teemu Myllylä

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Research Unit of Medical Imaging, Physics and Technology, University of Oulu, Oulu, Finland
Interests: brain; glymphatic; cardiovascular systems—in particular; on the development of new methodologies and analysis techniques to monitor these. Optics techniques of special interest include (but are not limited to) NIRS; DCS; and opto-acoustics.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

In measurements of the cerebral cortex, optics-based techniques have many advantages over other neuroimaging methods. For instance, the technology is usually portable, clinically friendly, and allows long recording times. Optical techniques offer a broad range of contrast mechanisms to study brain function related parameters, but clinicians are still mostly using it for monitoring cerebral oxygen saturation. In addition, optics can be applied to brain therapies, particularly photodynamic therapy for brain tumours is in great progress, but also other optics-based therapies for the brain are emerging.

This Special Issue aims to cover the latest developments in optics applied to the brain. In particular, it aims to shed light on the emerging applications of optics in brain monitoring and therapies.

Adj. Prof. Teemu Myllylä
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Applied Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2400 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • Optics
  • Brain imaging
  • Optical detection
  • Spectroscopy
  • Preclinical monitoring

Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

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11 pages, 3239 KiB  
Article
Classification of Tactile and Motor Velocity-Evoked Hemodynamic Response in Primary Somatosensory and Motor Cortices as Measured by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
by Mohsen Hozan, Jacob Greenwood, Michaela Sullivan and Steven Barlow
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(10), 3381; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10103381 - 14 May 2020
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 2458
Abstract
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique in studying cerebral hemodynamics; however, consensus on the analysis methods and the clinical applications has yet to be established. In this study, we demonstrate the results of a pilot fNIRS study of cerebral hemodynamic response [...] Read more.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is an emerging technique in studying cerebral hemodynamics; however, consensus on the analysis methods and the clinical applications has yet to be established. In this study, we demonstrate the results of a pilot fNIRS study of cerebral hemodynamic response (HR) evoked by pneumotactile and sensorimotor stimuli on the dominant hand. Our goal is to find the optimal stimulus parameters to maximally evoke HR in the primary somatosensory and motor cortices. We use a pulsatile pneumatic array of 14 tactile cells that were attached to the glabrous surface of the dominant hand, with a patterned stimulus that resembles saltation at three distinct traverse velocities [10, 25, and 45 cm/s]. NIRS optodes (16 sources; 20 detectors) are bilaterally and symmetrically placed over the pre-and post-central gyri (M1 and S1). Our objective is to identify the extent to which cerebral HR can encode the velocity of the somatosensory and/or motor stimuli. We use common spatial pattern for feature extraction and regularized-discriminant analysis for classifying the fNIRS time series into velocity classes. The classification results demonstrate discriminatory features of the fNIRS signal from each distinct stimulus velocity. The results are inconclusive regarding the velocity which evokes the highest intensity of hemodynamic response. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optics and the Brain)
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12 pages, 1880 KiB  
Article
Photodynamic Opening of the Blood–Brain Barrier Using Different Photosensitizers in Mice
by Oxana Semyachkina-Glushkovskaya, Ekaterina Borisova, Vanya Mantareva, Ivan Angelov, Ivelina Eneva, Andrey Terskov, Aysel Mamedova, Alexander Shirokov, Alexander Khorovodov, Maria Klimova, Ilana Agranovich, Inna Blokhina, Nikita Lezhnev and Jurgen Kurths
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(1), 33; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10010033 - 19 Dec 2019
Cited by 9 | Viewed by 2786
Abstract
In a series of previous studies, we demonstrated that the photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a widely used tool for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), also site-specifically opens the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in PDT-dose and age-related manner via reversible disorganization of the tight junction [...] Read more.
In a series of previous studies, we demonstrated that the photodynamic therapy (PDT), as a widely used tool for treatment of glioblastoma multiforme (GBM), also site-specifically opens the blood–brain barrier (BBB) in PDT-dose and age-related manner via reversible disorganization of the tight junction machinery. To develop the effective protocol of PDT-opening of the BBB, here we answer the question of what kind of photosensitizer (PS) is the most effective for the BBB opening. We studied the PDT-opening of the BBB in healthy mice using commercial photosensitizers (PSs) such as 5-aminolevulenic acid (5-ALA), aluminum phthalocyanine disulfonate (AlPcS), zinc phthalocyanine (ZnPc) and new synthetized PSs such as galactose functionalized ZnPc (GalZnPc). The spectrofluorimetric assay of Evans Blue albumin complex (EBAC) leakage and 3-D confocal imaging of FITC-dextran 70 kDa (FITCD) extravasation clearly shows a revisable and dose depended PDT-opening of the BBB to EBAC and FITCD associated with a decrease in presence of tight junction (TJ) in the vascular endothelium. The PDT effects on the BBB permeability, TJ expression and the fluorescent signal from the brain tissues are more pronounced in PDT-GalZnPc vs. PDT-5-ALA/AlPcS/ZnPc. These pre-clinical data are the first important informative platform for an optimization of the PDT protocol in the light of new knowledge about PDT-opening of the BBB for drug brain delivery and for the therapy of brain diseases. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optics and the Brain)
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13 pages, 2403 KiB  
Article
Retinal Nerve Fiber Layer in Patients with Alcohol Use Disorder
by Sonia Álvarez-Sesmero, Francisco J. Povedano-Montero, Francisco Arias-Horcajadas, Marta Marín-Mayor, Patricia Navarrete-Chamorro, Isidoro Raga-Martínez, Gabriel Rubio and Francisco López-Muñoz
Appl. Sci. 2019, 9(24), 5331; https://doi.org/10.3390/app9245331 - 06 Dec 2019
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 3718
Abstract
The objectives of the present study are to determine the effects of alcohol use on the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and macular thickness of abstinent patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and to assess whether it correlates with alcohol consumption and/or [...] Read more.
The objectives of the present study are to determine the effects of alcohol use on the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) thickness and macular thickness of abstinent patients with alcohol use disorders (AUD) and to assess whether it correlates with alcohol consumption and/or cognitive impairment. This was a prospective, observational study that included 21 patients (42 eyes) and 21 controls (42 eyes). Patients met the criteria for early remission AUD at the moment of inclusion. We used optical coherence tomography to assess retinal thickness. Macular thickness in the group of AUD patients was lower in all quadrants (p < 0.05), with the exception of the peripheral and central. Regarding the nerve fiber layer in the macular and papilla areas, we found no significant differences. At the retina ganglion cell layer and in the nerve fiber of the macula, we found significant differences in all quadrants (p < 0.05), with the exception of the superior and superior nasal area, for the right eye. For the left eye, the only differences were found in the lower quadrant. Finally, when comparing the AUD patients to the controls, we found significant reductions in the ganglion cell layer of the macula in all quadrants in the former. There was a significant correlation between these findings and cognitive impairment (measured with the Test de Detección de Deterioro Cognitivo en Alcoholismo (TEDCA)), but not with alcohol consumption. Alcohol consumption is correlated with retinal harm and related cognitive decline. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optics and the Brain)
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Review

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24 pages, 1712 KiB  
Review
Optics Based Label-Free Techniques and Applications in Brain Monitoring
by Priya Karthikeyan, Sadegh Moradi, Hany Ferdinando, Zuomin Zhao and Teemu Myllylä
Appl. Sci. 2020, 10(6), 2196; https://doi.org/10.3390/app10062196 - 24 Mar 2020
Cited by 13 | Viewed by 5182
Abstract
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been utilized already around three decades for monitoring the brain, in particular, oxygenation changes in the cerebral cortex. In addition, other optical techniques are currently developed for in vivo imaging and in the near future can be potentially [...] Read more.
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) has been utilized already around three decades for monitoring the brain, in particular, oxygenation changes in the cerebral cortex. In addition, other optical techniques are currently developed for in vivo imaging and in the near future can be potentially used more in human brain research. This paper reviews the most common label-free optical technologies exploited in brain monitoring and their current and potential clinical applications. Label-free tissue monitoring techniques do not require the addition of dyes or molecular contrast agents. The following optical techniques are considered: fNIRS, diffuse correlations spectroscopy (DCS), photoacoustic imaging (PAI) and optical coherence tomography (OCT). Furthermore, wearable optical brain monitoring with the most common applications is discussed. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Optics and the Brain)
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