scholarly journals Reduced Temporal Activation During a Verbal Fluency Task is Associated with Poor Motor Speed in Patients with Major Depressive Disorder

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (8) ◽  
pp. 804-813
Author(s):  
Tomohiko Kiriyama ◽  
Rumi Tanemura ◽  
Yoshihiro Nakamura ◽  
Chiaki Takemoto ◽  
Mariko Hashimoto ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Cognitive Function ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Temporal Region ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Motor Speed ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Fluency Task ◽  
Left Temporal Region

Objective Substantial research has revealed cognitive function impairments in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the relationship between MDD cognitive function impairment and brain activity is yet to be elucidated. This study aimed to reveal this relationship using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to extensively measure frontotemporal cortex function.Methods We recruited 18 inpatients with MDD and 22 healthy controls. Regional oxygenated hemoglobin changes (oxy-Hb) were measured during a verbal fluency task and its relationship to cognitive function was assessed. Cognitive function was assessed using the Japanese version of the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia.Results Compared to healthy controls, patients with MDD displayed poorer motor speed, attention and speed of information processing, and executive function. In the bilateral prefrontal and temporal surface regions, regional oxy-Hb changes were significantly lower in patients with MDD than in healthy individuals. Moreover, we observed a correlation between reduced activation in the left temporal region and poor motor speed in patients with MDD.Conclusion We suggest that reduced activation in the left temporal region in patients with MDD could be a biomarker of poor motor speed. Additionally, NIRS may be useful as a noninvasive, clinical measurement tool for assessing motor speed in these patients.

scholarly journals Prefrontal Functional Connectivity During the Verbal Fluency Task in Patients With Major Depressive Disorder: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Suh-Yeon Dong ◽  
JongKwan Choi ◽  
Yeonsoo Park ◽  
Seung Yeon Baik ◽  
Minjee Jung ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Healthy Individuals ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Fluency Task

Deviations in activation patterns and functional connectivity have been observed in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) with prefrontal hemodynamics of patients compared with healthy individuals. The graph-theoretical approach provides useful network metrics for evaluating functional connectivity. The evaluation of functional connectivity during a cognitive task can be used to explain the neurocognitive mechanism underlying the cognitive impairments caused by depression. Overall, 31 patients with MDD and 43 healthy individuals completed a verbal fluency task (VFT) while wearing a head-mounted functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) devices. Hemodynamics and functional connectivity across eight prefrontal subregions in the two groups were analyzed and compared. We observed a reduction in prefrontal activation and weaker overall and interhemispheric subregion-wise correlations in the patient group compared with corresponding values in the control group. Moreover, efficiency, the network measure related to the effectiveness of information transfer, showed a significant between-group difference [t (71.64) = 3.66, corrected p < 0.001] along with a strong negative correlation with depression severity (rho = −0.30, p = 0.009). The patterns of prefrontal functional connectivity differed significantly between the patient and control groups during the VFT. Network measures can quantitatively characterize the reduction in functional connectivity caused by depression. The efficiency of the functional network may play an important role in the understanding of depressive symptoms.

scholarly journals Prefrontal Cortex Activation During Verbal Fluency Task and Tower of London Task in Schizophrenia and Major Depressive Disorder

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yilei Xiang ◽  
Yuan Li ◽  
Chang Shu ◽  
Zhongchun Liu ◽  
Huiling Wang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Hemodynamic Changes ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Patient Groups ◽  
Fluency Task

Background: Cognitive dysfunction is a common clinical feature of mental disorders. A number of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) studies have shown reduced prefrontal activation during the verbal fluency task (VFT) in schizophrenia (SZ) and major depressive disorder (MDD). However, no studies have examined and compared the brain activation patterns during the Tower of London (TOL), which is another classic, high-sensitivity executive function testing tool, in these two serious mental disorders. This study aimed to assess the characteristics of brain activation during the two different cognitive tasks in SZ and MDD patients.Methods: This study recruited 30 patients with SZ, 30 patients with MDD, and 30 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs). The hemodynamic changes of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) were measured using 32-channel fNIRS during performance of the TOL task and VFT task.Results: SZ patients showed poorer VFT performance than MDD patients and HCs, and the two patient groups showed poorer TOL performance than HCs. Compared to HCs, both of the patient groups exhibited a significant decreased activation in the extensive PFC. Particularly in certain channels in the dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC), SZ patients exhibited significantly decreased hemodynamic changes than the MDD patients.Conclusions: Patients with SZ and MDD have different levels of impairment in different cognitive domains and different patterns of brain activation during the two cognitive tasks. Further research is needed to determine the use of fNIRS for clinical evaluation and diagnosis.

Suicidal ideation is associated with reduced prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task in patients with major depressive disorder

2015 ◽  
Vol 181 ◽  
pp. 9-17 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shenghong Pu ◽  
Kazuyuki Nakagome ◽  
Takeshi Yamada ◽  
Katsutoshi Yokoyama ◽  
Hiroshi Matsumura ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Major Depressive Disorder ◽  
Suicidal Ideation ◽  
Depressive Disorder ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Major Depressive ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Fluency Task

Abstract TP50: Functional Recovery In Stroke: Performance On Verbal Fluency Task

Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
VEENA A NAIR ◽  
CHRISTIAN LA ◽  
TANVI NADKARNI ◽  
PETER REITER ◽  
MARCUS CHACON ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Acute Stroke ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Acute Stage ◽  
Stroke Onset ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Significant Group ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Acute Patients ◽  
Fluency Task ◽  
Over Time

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study is to investigate the brain activation patterns and relationship with verbal fluency performance in stroke recovery. METHODS: Patients with ischemic stroke (N=19, mean age =64, 7F) and 17 healthy age-matched controls, participated in the study. Measures on a verbal fluency task were collected outside the scanner. Functional MR images were collected as subjects performed the same task(3T GE scanner). Task included alternating 20 second blocks of rest and word retrieval given a letter. Results from 19 acute patients(< 7 days from stroke onset - V1), of which 9 were also tested in the sub-acute stage(between 7 days and 6 months from stroke onset - V2), are reported here. RESULTS: Acute patients showed significantly greater activation in several regions, including the right middle and inferior frontal gyrus, and de-activations in regions including left middle temporal and frontal gyri(p<.05, corrected for multiple comparisons). Beta values representing the intensity of BOLD signal were extracted from these significant activation clusters. There were significant differences in beta values in acute(p<.001 corrected) and sub-acute(p<.01 uncorrected) stages compared with healthy controls(Figure). Pearson r correlations computed between the beta values and normed verbal fluency scores did not show significant group difference in correlation between these measures. CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest increased activation in acute stroke in right hemisphere language regions; healthy controls conversely show less activation in these regions. Additionally, activity in brain areas significantly correlated with behavior. Activation pattern in acute stroke however changes over time with patients in the sub-acute stage showing pattern similar to healthy controls. This is consistent with studies suggesting that activations in the acute stage tend to normalize over time likely due to areas prior to the stroke re-gaining function.

Clustering and switching on verbal and nonverbal fluency in patients with schizophrenia

2017 ◽  
Vol 41 (S1) ◽  
pp. S389-S389
Author(s):  
M. Víchová ◽  
T. Urbánek
Keyword(s):  
Executive Functions ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Psychiatric Patients ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Point Test ◽  
Psychiatric Population ◽  
Competing Interest ◽  
Study Participants ◽  
Fluency Task

In our study, we focus on the extent of occurrence of switching and clustering during fluency task among patients with schizophrenia compared to healthy controls. The previous studies found that both switching and clustering were affected in patients with schizophrenia. However, it has not clear yet if the decrease is caused by the impairment of executive functions or is related to poorer vocabulary. In our study, participants were tested Verbal Fluency Task (phonological and semantic) and also the nonverbal fluency task (measured by Five Point Test) so that the effect of vocabulary would be removed. Our study included 50 participants: 25 individuals with schizophrenia and 25 healthy controls. We found significant differences in the way of organization between group of psychiatric patients and healthy controls. The absence of clustering is typical for psychiatric population, patients tell the words without closer connection, they neglect association links, switch between clusters. Due to this way of response, they achieved lower score, they told fewer words than healthy controls. However, this manner was found also in nonverbal task where the patients did not follow one-way in drawing patterns and they often change the number of connecting dots or used lines. Our study implies that this condition is probably caused by disruption of the executive functions.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Frontal haemodynamic responses in depression and the effect of electroconvulsive therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 33 (8) ◽  
pp. 1003-1014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Darragh Downey ◽  
Sabrina Brigadoi ◽  
Liam Trevithick ◽  
Rebecca Elliott ◽  
Clare Elwell ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Electroconvulsive Therapy ◽  
Verbal Fluency ◽  
Cognitive Tasks ◽  
Extensive Literature ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Cognitive Changes ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task ◽  
Depressed Patients ◽  
Fluency Task ◽  
Back Task

Background: Reduced frontal cortex metabolism and blood flow in depression may be associated with low mood and cognitive impairment. Further reduction has been reported during a course of electroconvulsive therapy but it is not known if this relates to mood and cognitive changes caused by electroconvulsive therapy. Aims: The purpose of this study was to investigate frontal function while undertaking cognitive tasks in depressed patients compared with healthy controls, and following electroconvulsive therapy in patients. Methods: We measured frontal haemodynamic responses to a category verbal fluency task and a working memory N-back task using portable functional near infra-red spectroscopy (fNIRS) in 51 healthy controls and 18 severely depressed patients, 12 of whom were retested after the fourth treatment of a course of electroconvulsive therapy. Mood was assessed using the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale and cognitive function using category Verbal Fluency from the Controlled Oral Word Association Test and Digit Span backwards. Results: Compared to healthy controls, depressed patients had bilaterally lower frontal oxyhaemoglobin responses to the cognitive tasks, although this was only significant for the N-Back task where performance correlated inversely with depression severity in patients. After four electroconvulsive therapy treatments oxyhaemoglobin responses were further reduced during the Verbal Fluency task but the changes did not correlate with mood or cognitive changes. Discussion: Our results confirmed a now extensive literature showing impaired frontal fNIRS oxyhaemoglobin responses to cognitive tasks in depression, and showed for the first time that these are further reduced during a course of electroconvulsive therapy. Further research is needed to investigate the biology and clinical utility of frontal fNIRS in psychiatric patients.

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