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fNIRS assessment during cognitive tasks in elderly patients with depressive symptoms
Author(s) -
Kang Min Ju,
Yang Youngsoon
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
alzheimer's and dementia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.713
H-Index - 118
eISSN - 1552-5279
pISSN - 1552-5260
DOI - 10.1002/alz.039219
Subject(s) - stroop effect , verbal fluency test , memory span , hemodynamics , haemodynamic response , geriatric depression scale , psychology , audiology , depression (economics) , executive functions , cognition , medicine , cardiology , depressive symptoms , psychiatry , neuropsychology , heart rate , working memory , blood pressure , macroeconomics , economics
Background The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the level of activation in the frontal cortex using functional near‐infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) according to the presence of depressive symptoms, which was assessed by the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) in elderly participants. Method We investigated 204 community‐based normal participants without psychiatric disorder or dementia between the ages of 60‐80 years. GDS and fNIRS were used to assess the presence of depression in all patients, along with cognitive tasks including the digit span, Verbal Fluency Task (VFT), and Stroop test to investigate hemodynamic response in the frontal cortex. Result During the Stroop test, significantly reduced hemodynamics was observed in the depressive‐symptom group. Mean accΔHbO 2 of all channel averages was 0.14μM in the control group and ‐0.75μM in the depressive‐symptom group (p=0.03), right hemisphere average was 0.13μM and ‐0.96μM, respectively (p=0.02), and left hemisphere average was 0.14μM and ‐0.54μM, respectively (p=0.12). There was no significant difference in hemodynamic response (mean accΔHbO 2 ) between the two groups during the digit span backwards and VFT. Conclusion The hemodynamic response during fNIRS was significantly different between control and depressive‐symptom groups. Among the three tasks, the Stroop test results indicated reduced hemodynamics in the frontal cortex of the depressive‐symptom group.