Open AccessReduced Frontal Activation during a Working Memory Task in Mild Cognitive Impairment: a Non‐Invasive Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy Study
Author(s) -
Niu HaiJing,
Li Xin,
Chen YaoJing,
Ma Chao,
Zhang JunYing,
Zhang ZhanJun
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
cns neuroscience and therapeutics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.403
H-Index - 69
eISSN - 1755-5949
pISSN - 1755-5930
DOI - 10.1111/cns.12046
Subject(s) - functional near infrared spectroscopy , working memory , cognition , psychology , cognitive impairment , audiology , neuroscience , medicine , prefrontal cortex
Summary Aims Working memory ( WM ) impairments are considered to be a main feature of mild cognitive impairment ( MCI ). Functional brain imaging studies have revealed evidence of alterations in the frontal and temporal cortices associated with WM in MCI patients. However, some imaging methods are too expensive for routine clinical use and have a low temporal resolution. Methods Using a newly developed near‐infrared spectroscopy ( NIRS ) system, we studied the spatiotemporal dynamics of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy‐Hb) during a WM task in eight patients with mild cognitive impairment ( MCI ) and 16 age‐ and gender‐matched healthy controls. Results We performed temporal and spatial correlation analyses on each group during their WM tasks. These results consistently demonstrated that, when compared with the healthy controls, the MCI patients exhibited significantly decreased activation in the left frontal, right superior frontal and left temporal lobes. We found evidence of altered frontal and temporal processing during WM tasks in the MCI patients. Conclusions These results confirm the functional deficits in the frontal and temporal cortices and the impairment of WM and cognitive abilities in MCI patients and suggest that fNIRS may be a useful tool for evaluating brain activation in cognitive disorders.