Negative correlation between affective symptoms and prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task: a near-infrared spectroscopy study

• Published in: Neuropsychobiology Vol. 67; no. 2; p. 103
• Main Authors: Sawa, Masayo, Yamashita, Hidehisa, Fujimaki, Koichiro, Okada, Go, Takahashi, Terumichi, Yamawaki, Shigeto
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland 01-01-2013
• Subjects: Adult; Affective Symptoms - complications; Affective Symptoms - pathology; Affective Symptoms - psychology; Cognition Disorders - diagnosis; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Hemoglobins - metabolism; Humans; Male; Middle Aged; Neuropsychological Tests; Oxyhemoglobins - metabolism; Prefrontal Cortex - metabolism; Psychometrics; Quality of Life; Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; Statistics as Topic; Surveys and Questionnaires; Verbal Learning - physiology
• ISSN: 1423-0224
• DOI: 10.1159/000345161

Only a few studies have examined the relationships between affective symptoms, cognitive function (e.g. verbal fluency), quality of life (QOL), and brain activation in a nonclinical population. The aim of the present study was to assess these relationships and examine the underlying cortical mechanisms in a nonclinical population. Fifty-two healthy male volunteers were assessed for depressive symptoms using the Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale (SDS), for apathy using the Apathy Scale, and QOL using the Medical Outcomes Study short-form 36-item questionnaire (SF36). The volunteers also performed a verbal fluency test (VFT) while hemoglobin concentration changes were assessed on the surface of the frontal cortex using 24-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The SDS and Apathy Scale scores showed significant negative correlations with the scores of most of the SF36 subscales. Frontal activation had a significant negative correlation with the SDS scores and the Apathy Scale. These results suggest that the degree of affective symptoms is associated with a lower QOL in a nonclinical population, and that cortical hypoactivation during a VFT measured by NIRS may objectively identify individuals with a high degree of affective symptoms.