Designing Cognitive Training Interfaces for Students: fNIRS-Based Insights on Color and Emotional Semantics

Supporting student cognitive well-being in today’s learning environments is a key priority. This study employed functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure prefrontal cortex activation in 15 healthy adults during a color-word Stroop task with four emotional-color combinations. Results demonstrated significant left prefrontal activation for negative emotional words, alongside enhanced neural engagement in response to positive color stimuli, while incongruent pairings induced measurable cognitive conflict. Oxygenated hemoglobin responses at 850 nm provided optimal sensitivity for detecting these neural patterns. These findings suggest design principles for student-centered cognitive training interfaces, strategically integrating emotional semantics and color cues to maximize prefrontal engagement, and offering pathways to enhance educational interactions through neuroscience-informed visual interface design.