| To systematically review the application of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in post-stroke aphasia (PSA) rehabilitation research, relevant literature published from January 2015 to May 2025 was retrieved from PubMed, Web of Science, CNKI, and Wanfang databases. Two reviewers independently screened and extracted data. Study quality was assessed using the physiotherapy evidence database (PEDro) scale. A total of 14 studies involving 323 PSA patients were included, originating from China, the United States, Japan, and South Korea. Most were published after 2020 and employed controlled designs. fNIRS was primarily used to investigate cerebral hemodynamic changes and functional reorganization in PSA patients. Common indicators included regional brain activation (e.g., HBO concentration), functional connectivity, and graph-theoretical measures. Studies showed that PSA patients exhibit abnormal activation patterns during language tasks, such as decreased activation in left-hemisphere language regions and compensatory activation in contralateral or non-language regions. Resting-state studies reported reduced global and network-specific connectivity, with partial recovery in the acute phase. Intervention studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS), intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS), or scalp acupuncture demonstrated improvements in language function, paralleled by accompanied by fNIRS-detected dynamic changes in activation patterns and network connectivity within language-related hemispheres. fNIRS is a safe, non-invasive imaging technique with strong potential for revealing the neural mechanisms and recovery patterns of PSA. Its emerging integration with neuromodulation techniques and traditional acupuncture suggests potential utility in guiding personalized rehabilitation. Further high-quality clinical trials are warranted to validate and expand its clinical applications in PSA recovery. |
