Premium
Effects of hypnotics on prefrontal cortex activity during a verbal fluency task in healthy male subjects: A near‐infrared spectroscopy study
Author(s) -
Tsuruta Yoshiyuki,
Iwamoto Kunihiro,
Banno Masahiro,
Kawano Naoko,
Kohmura Kunihiro,
Miyata Seiko,
Fujishiro Hiroshige,
Noda Yukihiro,
Noda Akiko,
Iritani Shuji,
Ozaki Norio
Publication year - 2018
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.2678
Subject(s) - triazolam , verbal fluency test , prefrontal cortex , placebo , sss* , crossover study , audiology , psychology , medicine , anesthesia , psychiatry , benzodiazepine , cognition , neuropsychology , receptor , alternative medicine , pathology
Abstract Objective To assess the effects of hypnotics on prefrontal cortex activity in healthy subjects using near‐infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in a double‐blind, placebo‐controlled crossover trial. Methods Eighteen healthy males received acute doses of ramelteon (8 mg), triazolam (0.125 mg), or placebo in a predetermined randomization schedule, with a washout period of more than 1 week. All subjects performed a verbal fluency task during NIRS assessments at baseline and at 1 and 4 hr post‐dose. The number of words correctly generated during the task (behavioral performance) and scores on the Stanford Sleepiness Scale (SSS) were also recorded at each test time. Results Compared with the placebo, triazolam (0.125 mg) significantly decreased oxyhemoglobin (oxy‐Hb) concentration change in NIRS during the posttask period and significantly increased behavioral performance, whereas triazolam (0.125 mg) and ramelteon (8 mg) significantly increased SSS scores. Conclusions The differential effects of two types of hypnotics on oxy‐Hb change measured by NIRS were observed in acute dosing, suggesting that when assessing brain activity of patients with psychiatric disorders, researchers should consider how certain types of hypnotics can influence brain function. This would also provide useful information to clinicians when prescribing hypnotics suitable for their patients' conditions.