J Neuropsychiatry Clin Neurosci 16:170-175, May 2004
© 2004 American Psychiatric Press, Inc.
Bilaterally Reduced Frontal Activation During a Verbal Fluency Task in Depressed Patients as Measured by Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
M. J. Herrmann,
A.-C. Ehlis and
A. J. Fallgatter
Received May 17, 2002; revised September 30, 2002; accepted November 18, 2002. From the Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Würzburg, Germany. Address correspondence to Dr. Herrmann, Psychiatric Neurophysiology, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy University Hospital Würzburg Fuechsleinstraße 15 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany, Martin.Herrmann{at}mail.uni-wuerzburg.de (E-mail).
The present study investigated functional changes of brain oxygenation in prefrontal brain areas of nine depressed patients and nine age- and sex-matched healthy comparison subjects by using near-infrared spectroscopy. During a verbal fluency task, the healthy subjects exhibited the typical activation pattern, with a significant increase in oxyhemoglobin and a decrease in deoxyhemoglobin, as compared to a resting baseline condition. Patients had significantly lower activation bilaterally during the cognitive task, with no significant differences in behavioral performance. The results underscore the hypothesis of a functional deficit in prefrontal cortex in depression and confirm the feasibility of near-infrared spectroscopy in measuring functional brain activation.
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