title: Bilaterally reduced frontal activation during a verbal fluency task in depressed patients as measured by near-infrared spectroscopy.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatric Neurophysiology, University Hospital of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Würzburg, Germany. Martin.Hermann@mail.uni-wuerzburg.de
authors.forename: M J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Herrmann
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Ehlis
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Fallgatter
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D003866:Depressive Disorder / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007807:Language Tests / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared / Q000379:methods*; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology*