APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR MONITORING BRAIN ACTIVITY

A method and apparatus for monitoring brain activity of a user is disclosed. The apparatus includes a plurality of spatially separated emitters operable to generate infrared radiation. The apparatus also includes a plurality of spatially separated infrared radiation detectors, and a plurality of light pipes urged into contact with the user's scalp, each one of the plurality of emitters and detectors having an associated light pipe operable to couple infrared radiation from the emitter into the scalp or to couple infrared radiation from the scalp to the detector. Each detector is operable to produce a signal representing an intensity of infrared radiation generated by a selectively actuated one of the plurality of emitters and received at the detector after traveling on a path through underlying brain tissue, the signals being received by a controller operably configured to process the signals from each detector to determine changes in blood oxygenation within the brain tissue along the path between the respective emitter and detector, and generate a spatial representation of brain activity within in the user's brain based on the processed signals.