Interview with Professor Simon Bennett of Liverpool John Moores University

Rogue Resolutions are proud to have completed the installation of a brand new Brainsight NIRS system at Liverpool John Moores University.

The new system, which uses infrared light to measure changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated haemoglobin in cortical blood flow, will be used by members of the Brain and Behaviour Group in the Research Institute for Sport and Exercise Sciences (RISES) at LJMU. RISES, established in 1997, stands at the forefront of research into sport and exercise science, with 97% of the research carried out in the department being rated world-leading or internationally excellent.

Following the recent installation of the Brainsight NIRS system, we spoke to Professor Simon Bennett who, along with Professor Jeffery Summers, will be one of the primary users of the new equipment. With the aid of the newly-installed Brainsight NIRS, ’we are aiming’, he says, ‘to combine behavioural and neurophysiological protocols to investigate key areas of the cortical network that underlie complex oculo-manual behaviour of young and elderly neurotypical adults’. Simon’s research intends to use the Brainsight NIRS alongside TMS to ‘investigate ocular behaviour, and functioning of the pre-frontal and motor cortex, during a novel dual-task remembered pursuit protocol’.

Before choosing to purchase the Brainsight NIRS system, Simon first discovered Brainbox through our presence at the 2013 Society for Neuroscience meeting in San Diego. Later, he attended one of our Brainbox Initiative workshops on the ‘Fundamentals and Applications of tDCS and tACS’: ‘I came away very impressed by the potential to integrate devices for Neuroimaging, Neuromodulation, and Neuronavigation’, he said, ‘particularly [. . .] the idea of integrating these devices into a single software package (Brainsight navigation)’, which integrates easily with the Brainsight NIRS system. ‘I was also impressed’, Simon added, ‘by the personal interaction with staff at Brainbox, as well as their rapid and positive response to questions and requests for assistance’. ‘Post-installation of Brainsight NIRS, I have had several email exchanges with Dan Phillips and have really appreciated his advice on NIRS set-up and input.’