Motion artifact

Definition: Motion artifacts are changes in the signal caused by the movements of the subject being measured. In the context of fNIRS, one major cause of motion artifacts is the scalp-optode decoupling due to head or skin movement. Such a decoupling can cause high-frequency spikes in the signal if the optode recouples with the scalp at the same location, or it can create baseline shifts in the signal if the optode settles on a different location on the scalp after the motion. Motion artifacts can significantly reduce the quality of the fNIRS data making it challenging to estimate underlying hemodynamic changes.

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Synonym: movement artifact, movement artifact, body movement, body artifact, optode movement

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Related terms: artifact correction, preprocessing, artifact, noise