{ "abstract": "Background: Excessive exposure to sedentary behavior (SB) is associated with cognitive decline and impaired brain health; however, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this relationship remain unclear. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) enables real-time monitoring of cerebral hemodynamics in naturalistic settings and offers unique technical advantages for understanding the effects of SB on brain health. Notably, methodological standardization specific to SB research is lacking, limiting cross-study comparisons and evidence synthesis despite established general fNIRS best practices.\n\nMethods: Following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, we systematically searched PubMed, Scopus, Web of Science, and PsycINFO through February 2026 for studies using fNIRS to assess SB’s effects on brain function. Two independent reviewers conducted study selection, data extraction, and bias risk assessment. We systematically extracted and analyzed instrumentation specifications, spatial positioning, data processing pipelines, statistical methods, and quality control measures to identify methodological variations and best practice patterns in current research.\n\nResults: From 36,477 initial records, 43 studies encompassing 2751 participants were included. Study types comprised acute (25 studies) and chronic interventions (8 studies) manipulating or monitoring SB patterns as well as cross-sectional studies (10 studies) analyzing the association between SB patterns and fNIRS-related parameters. Substantial heterogeneity was evident for specific methodological aspects, such as the use of diverse fNIRS systems and sampling rates (e.g., spanning 1.81–50.00 Hz), whereas others such as source-detector separation (i.e., 3.0 cm) were relatively homogenous across studies. Critical methodological issues included inadequate reporting of spatial registration and data quality control procedures, inconsistent implementation of multiple comparison corrections, and neglected monitoring of relevant environmental factors and physiological confounds.\n\nConclusion: This review provides the first SB-specific standardized methodological framework for fNIRS applications, building on established fNIRS best practices and extending them to address unique challenges of SB research, encompassing 6 core domains: hardware configuration, extended monitoring protocols, data processing, statistical analysis, quality assessment, and SB-specific reporting. Recommendations are systematically classified by evidence level, distinguishing minimum reporting standards applicable across all laboratories from best practices and aspirational approaches for well-resourced settings. Minimum recommendations include reporting optode geometry and placement with sufficient detail for replication and, where feasible, using short-separation regression (or a clearly justified alternative) to mitigate systemic physiological confounds. These recommendations aim to enhance methodological rigor, promote cross-study comparability, and support the long-term goal of identifying SB-related neurobiological biomarkers.", "abstract_shown": true, "affiliations": [ "Body-Brain-Mind Laboratory, School of Physical Education & Sports Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou 510006, China", "Department of Physical Education, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200240, China", "International Data Group (IDG)/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China", "School of Kinesiology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada", "Graduate Program in Neuroscience, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6A 3K7, Canada", "Canadian Centre for Activity and Aging, University of Western Ontario, London, ON N6G 1H1, Canada", "Physical Education and Sport Science (PESS) Department, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore", "Science of Learning in Education Centre (SoLEC), National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 637616, Singapore", "Department of Psychology, University of Exeter, Exeter EX4 4QG, UK", "Department of Sport, Exercise & Health, University of Basel, Basel 4052, Switzerland", "Institute of Sport, Exercise and Health, Division of Surgery and Interventional Sciences, University College London, London W1T 7HA, UK", "Epidemiology of Psychiatric Conditions, Substance Use and Social Environment (EPiCSS), Department of Public Health Sciences, Karolinska Institutet, Solna 17177, Sweden", "Physical Activity Laboratory, Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute, Melbourne, VIC 3004, Australia", "Centre for Urban Transitions, Swinburne University of Technology, Melbourne, VIC 3122, Australia", "Department of Sport Sciences and Physical Education, École Normale Supérieure de Rennes, Bruz 35170, France", "Violences, Innovations, Politiques, Socialisations et Sports (VIPS2) Laboratory, University of Rennes, Rennes 35000, France", "EuroMov Digital Health in Motion, University of Montpellier, Institut Mines-Télécom (IMT Mines Ales), Montpellier 34090, France", "Faculty of Education, Southern Cross University, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia", "Department of Psychology Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, 3062 PA, The Netherlands", "School of Education, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia", "Lero, The Research Ireland Centre for Software, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland", "Department of Physical Education & Sport Science, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland", "Health Research Institute, University of Limerick, Limerick V94 T9PX, Ireland", "Centre for Sport Leadership, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch 7602, South Africa", "Neurophotonics and Biosignal Processing Research Group, Biomedical Optics Research Laboratory, Department of Neonatology, University Hospital Zurich, University of Zurich, Zurich 8091, Switzerland", "Institute of Complementary and Integrative Medicine, University of Bern, Bern 3012, Switzerland", "Neuroscience Center Zurich, University of Zurich and Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) Zurich, Zurich 8057, Switzerland", "Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, HMU Health and Medical University Erfurt, Erfurt 99089, Germany" ], "article_type": "review article", "arxiv": null, "author_total": 24, "authors": [ { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Jinming Li" }, { "affs": [ 1 ], "name": "Yanxia Chen" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Yiming Tao" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Zhihao Zhang" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Qian Yu" }, { "affs": [ 2 ], "name": "Haijing Niu" }, { "affs": [ 3, 4, 5 ], "name": "Matthew Heath" }, { "affs": [ 6, 7 ], "name": "Wei-Peng Teo" }, { "affs": [ 8 ], "name": "Cassandra J. Lowe" }, { "affs": [ 9 ], "name": "Sebastian Ludyga" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Benjamin Tari" }, { "affs": [ 11 ], "name": "Mats Hallgren" }, { "affs": [ 12, 13 ], "name": "Neville Owen" }, { "affs": [ 14, 15 ], "name": "Boris Cheval" }, { "affs": [ 16 ], "name": "Stephane Perrey" }, { "affs": [ 17 ], "name": "Myrto Mavilidi" }, { "affs": [ 18, 19 ], "name": "Fred Paas" }, { "affs": [ 20, 21, 22, 23 ], "name": "Mark J. Campbell" }, { "affs": [ 20, 21, 22, 23 ], "name": "Adam Toth" }, { "affs": [ 24, 25, 26 ], "name": "Felix Scholkmann" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Uzair Hakim" }, { "affs": [ 10 ], "name": "Flaminia Ronca" }, { "affs": [ 27 ], "name": "Fabian Herold" }, { "affs": [ 0 ], "name": "Liye Zou" } ], "bibtex": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33e5s7kjha50w.bib", "cited_by": 6, "doi": "10.1016/j.jshs.2026.101161", "fulltext_url": "https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC13738296/", "id": "33e5s7kjha50w", "issns": [ "2095-2546", "2213-2961" ], "landing_url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2026.101161", "language": "en", "licence": "CC-BY-NC-ND-4.0", "licence_label": "CC BY-NC-ND 4.0", "licence_source": "article", "licence_url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/", "metadata_licence": null, "native_subjects": [ [ "heading", "Review" ], [ "openalex", "2741|Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques" ] ], "openalex": "W7170135141", "pdf_url": "https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2095254626000529/pdf", "pmcid": "PMC13738296", "pmid": "42492742", "published": "2026-07-23", "publisher": "Shanghai University of Sport", "ris": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33e5s7kjha50w.ris", "sources": [ { "first_seen": "2026-11-09T12:23:18Z", "native_id": "PMC13738296", "source": "pmc", "url": "https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jshs.2026.101161" } ], "subjects": [ { "field": "medicine", "origin": "openalex:2741|Optical Imaging and Spectroscopy Techniques", "subfield": "imaging" } ], "title": "Guiding functional near-infrared spectroscopy research on sedentary behavior and brain health", "title_text": "Guiding functional near-infrared spectroscopy research on sedentary behavior and brain health", "type": "peer-reviewed", "updated_at": "2026-11-09T12:23:18Z", "url": "https://research.draconitic.com/paper/33e5s7kjha50w", "venue": "Journal of Sport and Health Science", "versions": [] }