Investigating the neurophysiological effects of active noise cancellation on concentration in noisy environments using functional near-infrared spectroscopy

Abstract

In this study, we used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to examine the neurophysiological effects of active noise cancellation (ANC) technology on cognitive performance in noisy environments. Forty-one normal-hearing adults performed an auditory decision-making task in ANC ON and ANC OFF conditions. During the task, concentration changes in oxyhemoglobin (Δoxy-Hb) in the prefrontal cortex were measured, subjective listening effort was assessed using a visual analog scale (VAS), and behavioral performance measures (accuracy and reaction time) were collected. VAS scores were significantly higher in the ANC ON condition than the ANC OFF condition (p< 0.001), indicating a reduction in perceived listening effort. In parallel, the ANC ON condition was associated with greater prefrontal activation, as reflected by larger absolute Δoxy-Hb, particularly in right-lateralized channels such as Ch05 and Ch07. Although no statistically significant differences were observed in behavioral accuracy (p=0.129) or reaction time (p=0.652), the physiological and subjective findings suggest that ANC contributes to reduced cognitive load and supports sustained attention in noisy environments. These findings provide neurophysiological evidence for the cognitive benefits of ANC and highlight its potential to enhance cognitive efficiency not only by improving the auditory signal-to-noise ratio, but also by increasing listening satisfaction through effective background noise reduction.

Keywords: ANC; Concentration; Listening Efforts; PFC; fNIRS.