Attenuated prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task in remitted major depression.
The aim of the present study was to investigate whether a functional abnormality in the left prefrontal cortex observed in patients with major depression performing a verbal fluency task is present after remission of depression. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was used to study changes in cerebral blood oxygenation in eight remitted patients with major depression and 10 healthy control subjects during a verbal fluency task. Compared to the control subjects, the patients had a reduced response in the left prefrontal cortex (middle frontal gyrus, Brodmann area 10). These findings suggest the presence of dysfunction in the left prefrontal cortex during remission in major depression.
Okada
Go
G
Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences, Division of Frontier Medical Science, Programs for Biomedical Research, Graduate School of Biomedical Sciences, Hiroshima University, Hiroshima, Japan. goookada@hiroshima-u.ac.jp
Okamoto
Yasumasa
Y
Yamashita
Hidehisa
H
Ueda
Kazutaka
K
Takami
Hiroshi
H
Yamawaki
Shigeto
S
D000328:Adult; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D014705:Verbal Behavior / Q000502:physiology