Hello, I am looking for options for data analysis for my fNIRS data. We are using the g.Nautilus EEG with the Artinis fNIRS for data collection in a task based paradigm. There are many options available. Which one is a good option and how to determine which on to use?
For EEG, we are using EEGLab. Also, what is recommended for combined analysis?
Thank you.
If you’re already using Matlab (EEGLab) for EEG, then you could consider BrainAnalyzIR from Ted Huppert’s group. It seems like Artinis even suggests that as a possible path forward with their data and have some tutorials, and (like EEGLab) they have a helpful Graphical User Interface (GUI). Brainstorm similarly has a helpful GUI and even has some helpful ways of combining data. If you’re more of a code person, then FieldTrip is an excellent MATLAB package with fNIRS tools.
If you’re happier in Python, then you could consider MNE Python. They have an add-on for fNRIS and work natively with EEG/MEG.
In my experience, most packages have basic analysis parity with other packages. If there’s something nuanced that you need, then you might be able to filter out which software to use based on a feature.
For combining various datasets, there are many options of how integrated you want those analyses to be. Some labs just analyze the data side by side and look at the overlap. Others will do conjunction analysis or correlate one modality to another on the final processed data. There’s the Randy McIntosh approach of Partial Least Squares (PLS).
You’ll likely find a bit more help on your analysis on the message boards and email lists of each of these software packages. Somewhat “old”, but hopefully still relevant is this NIH workshop on multimodal neuroimaging featuring the authors of many of the packages I’ve mentioned above.