DOI: 10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3g9
title: An fNIRS dataset for multimodal speech comprehension in normal hearing individuals and cochlear implant users

description: Understanding cortical processing in cochlear implant (CI) users is
 crucial for improving speech rehabilitation outcomes. Functional
 near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) provides a non-invasive,
 implant-compatible method for assessing cortical activity during speech
 comprehension. This is a multimodal fNIRS dataset collected from 46 CI
 users and 26 normal hearing (NH) controls. Participants completed a
 clinically relevant speech comprehension task using the German Matrix
 Sentence Test (OLSA) under speech-in-quiet, speech-in-noise, audiovisual
 speech, and visual speech (i.e., lipreading) conditions. fNIRS recordings
 covered key cortical regions involved in speech processing, including the
 prefrontal, auditory, and visual cortices. In addition to fNIRS data, we
 provide detailed metadata, including patient history, hearing test
 results, behavioral measures, and spatially registered probe positions.
 The dataset represents a comprehensive fNIRS resource for investigating
 multimodal speech understanding in CI users.
description: # An fNIRS dataset for multimodal speech comprehension in normal hearing
 individuals and cochlear implant users Dataset DOI:
 [10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3g9](10.5061/dryad.crjdfn3g9) ## Description of the
 data and file structure The dataset is organized according to the Brain
 Imaging Data Structure v1.10.0 (BIDS) with extensions for NIRS data [1,2].
 The main data files are in Shared Near Infrared Spectroscopy Format
 (SNIRF), stored in (**snirf_local-bids.zip**). Each participant has an
 individual SNIRF file, and also fields from the BIDS specification. The
 BIDS fields are replicated from the SNIRF file, which allows relevant
 behavioral, event, or channel-related data to be parsed without using an
 SNIRF reader. Participant-level information is stored in the root
 directory of the dataset (**participants.tsv**) file, along with an
 accompanying sidecar (**participants.json**) that provides descriptions of
 each column. These are top-level files summarizing relevant demographic
 and audiometric variables, enabling researchers to filter participant
 groups efficiently. To complement this, a more detailed Excel file
 (**participants_info.xlsx**) includes all metadata, with accompanying code
 provided for MATLAB (in **supplementary_code** folder). For Python, we
 provide a demonstration pipeline that includes loading, pre-processing,
 and visualization, implemented in a Jupyter Notebook (**ds_main.py**) and
 a supporting Python script (**ds_helpers.py**) containing necessary helper
 functions. To run the demonstration, all dependencies need to be installed
 (listed in **environment.yml** file. ### Files #### File:
 snirf_local-bids.zip **Description:** Data files are organized according
 to the BIDS-NIRS format. Participants with cochlear implants have a label
 starting with "S", and normal hearing participants with
 "C". *dataset_description.json*: Information on authorship,
 funding, and BIDS version *participants.tsv*: Demographic and audiometric
 variables for quick filtering of the dataset *participants.json*:
 Describing the columns of participants.tsv *participants_info.xlsx*: All
 metadata summarized in Excel format subfolders: *sub-*/ *
 *nirs/* * *sub-*_coordsystem.json: Location of optodes *
 *sub-*_optodes.tsv: Location of anatomical landmarks, and the
 coordinate system and units in which the position of optodes and landmarks
 is expressed * *sub-*task-full_channels.tsv: Detailed
 information on the pairing of source and detector optodes with a specific
 wavelength of light * *sub-*task-full_events.tsv: Triggers
 during the experiment * *sub-*task-full_nirs.json: Detailed
 information on the fNIRS instrument and task *
 *sub-*task-full_nirs.snirf: Main data file #### File:
 ds_main.ipynb, ds_helpers.py and environment.yml **Description:** A
 runnable Jupyter notebook for demonstration, helper functions, and Python
 dependencies #### File: supplementary_code.zip
 **Description:** Supplementary code for MATLAB users to explore metadata
 ## References \[1] Brain Imaging Data Structure Specifications for NIRS.
 [https://bids-specification.readthedocs.io/en/stable/modality-specific-files/near-infrared-spectroscopy.html](https://bids-specification.readthedocs.io/en/stable/modality-specific-files/near-infrared-spectroscopy.html) Accessed: 2025-01-31 \[2] Brain Imaging Data Structure Specifications for Modality agnostic files. [https://bids-specification.readthedocs.io/en/stable/modality-agnostic-files.html](https://bids-specification.readthedocs.io/en/stable/modality-agnostic-files.html) Accessed: 2025-06-18 ## Human subjects data This study adhered to the Declaration of Helsinki and received approval from the local institutional review board (KEK-Bern, BASED-ID 2020-02978). All participants provided written informed consent before their participation. The data does not include information that can be used to identify an individual.