The MULtiple PAradigms (MULPA) dataset
Zenodo (CERN European Organization for Nuclear Research)
Abstract
Overview This dataset was first described in “All signals considered: Data quality partially explains inter-individual task differences in a large, open fNIRS dataset” (Raible and Pereira et al., 2026; https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.06.728412) and contains raw continuous-wave functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) recordings, as well as extensive physiological measurements, for N = 57 participants. Data were acquired at the Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University. The study includes multiple perceptual, affective, motor, imagery, music, and resting-state tasks. The data are intended to support analyses of task-evoked and resting-state fNIRS signals, including analyses that use short-separation channels to account for systemic physiology. Participants are sorted according to data completeness and fNIRS data quality, as assessed using the Scalp Coupling Index (SCI). The first n = 22 participants include those for whom fNIRS data quality was high (defined as fewer than one-third of channels being excluded using an exclusion criterion of SCI < 0.75), at least one complete run was available per task, and all questionnaires were completed. The participants.tsv file provides a comprehensive overview of data completeness. fNIRS data fNIRS data were acquired using two cascaded NIRx NIRSport2 systems and Aurora 2023.9.3 (NIRx Medical Technologies, Berlin, Germany). Thirty-two light-emitting diode (LED) sources (λ1 = 760 nm; λ2 = 850 nm), 28 silicon photodiode (SiPD) detectors, and 32 short-distance detectors were placed on the cap with near-whole-head coverage. This configuration resulted in 102 regular and 32 short-separation channels (134 channels in total). Data were sampled at 12.6 Hz. Physiological data The recorded physiological data include pulse oximetry (PPG), heart rate (HR), oxygen saturation (SpO2), respiration, galvanic skin response (GSR), electrocardiography (ECG), and electromyography (EMG) for recording hand movements. These measures are included as auxiliary measurements in the .snirf files. Behavioral data The phenotype folder contains the following questionnaires. The Motor Imagery Questionnaire (MIQ; Williams et al., 2012) was administered at the beginning of the experimental session, before task data were acquired. The Profile of Mood States (POMS; McNair et al., 1971) was completed once before and once after the experiments. Tasks and conditions The dataset includes the following task labels: emotion: Participants were presented with 18 pictures of human faces (6 s each) that changed from a neutral facial expression to a happy (Neutral-Happy), sad (Neutral-Sad), or neutral (Neutral-Neutral) expression, with 15–17 s rest periods between pictures. visual: Participants were presented with visual stimuli in five blocks. Each block contained five images from a particular condition (Threatening, Non-Threatening, or Control), with 15–17 s rest periods between blocks. motoraction: Participants performed a bimanual finger-tapping task in nine blocks of 16 s, with 15–17 s rest periods between blocks. motorimagery: Participants imagined a bilateral upper-limb movement in nine blocks of 16 s, with 15–17 s rest periods between blocks. motorimageryfreqchange: Participants imagined a bilateral upper-limb movement in nine blocks of 16 s, with 15–17 s rest periods between blocks. Movements were imagined at an increasing speed until an auditory cue in the middle of the task period (after 8 s) instructed participants to gradually decrease the speed of the imagined movement. music: Participants were presented with 12 musical excerpts of 7 s each in four blocks (PosValence_HighArousal, PosValence_LowArousal, NegValence_HighArousal, and NegValence_LowArousal), interleaved with 15–17 s rest periods. This task was completed twice. restingstate: Participants completed a five-minute resting-state task during which a fixation cross was displayed and they were instructed to rest. The tasks are described in more detail in the preprint “All signals considered: Data quality partially explains inter-individual task differences in a large, open fNIRS dataset” (https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.06.728412). Ethics Ethical approval for data collection was obtained from the Ethics Review Committee Psychology and Neuroscience at Maastricht University, the Netherlands (ERCPN-255_99_07_2022). Authors Sophie Raible*, Joao Pereira*, Foivos Kotsogiannis, Bruno Direito, Teresa Sousa, Manu da Cunha Seiffert, Rik Lavicka, Vendija Skeltona, Danielle Evenblij, Assunta Ciarlo, Armin Heinecke, Jacqueline Gädtke, Zeus Tipado, Miguel Castelo-Branco, Rainer Goebel, Michael Lührs, and Bettina Sorger. *The first two authors contributed equally to this work. Reuse, citation, and license This dataset is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License (CC BY-NC 4.0). Non-commercial reuse is permitted under the license terms. Commercial use requires prior written permission from the authors. Use of this dataset requires attribution to the dataset authors and citation of the associated article (Raible and Pereira et al., 2026). References Raible, S., Pereira, J., Kotsogiannis, F., Direito, B., Sousa, T., Seiffert, M. da C., Lavicka, R., Skeltona, V., Evenblij, D., Ciarlo, A., Heinecke, A., Gädtke, J., Tipado, Z., Mehler, D. M. A., Kohl, S. H., Castelo-Branco, M., Goebel, R., Lührs, M., & Sorger, B. (2026). All signals considered: Data quality partially explains inter-individual task differences in a large, open fNIRS dataset (2026.06.06.728412). bioRxiv. https://doi.org/10.64898/2026.06.06.728412 Williams, S. E., Cumming, J., Ntoumanis, N., Nordin-Bates, S. M., Ramsey, R., & Hall, C. (2012). Further validation and development of the Movement Imagery Questionnaire. Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 34(5), 621–646. https://doi.org/10.1123/jsep.34.5.621 McNair, D. M., Lorr, M., & Droppleman, L. F. (1971). Profile of Mood States. Note: Task presentation and preprocessing scripts are currently available upon request via email to sp.raible@maastrichtuniversity.nl. We are in touch with the Zenodo team to solve some technical issues with adding these files to the repository.
Authors 19
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Maastricht University · University of Coimbra
Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
University of Coimbra
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Affiliation as printed
University of Coimbra
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Affiliation as printed
University of Coimbra
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Maastricht University · Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
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Affiliation as printed
NIRx Medical Technologies, Berlin, Germany
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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David M. A. Mehler Aachen
RWTH Aachen University · University of Münster
Affiliation as printed
RWTH Aachen University
University of Münster
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Simon H. Kohl Aachen
RWTH Aachen University · Forschungszentrum Jülich
Affiliation as printed
RWTH Aachen University
Forschungszentrum Jülich
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Affiliation as printed
University of Coimbra
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Maastricht University · Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
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Maastricht University · Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
Brain Innovation (Netherlands)
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Affiliation as printed
Maastricht University
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