Focal frontal (de)oxyhemoglobin responses during simple arithmetic.
Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a functional brain imaging method able to study hemodynamic changes during cortical activation. We studied the changes of oxy- and deoxyhemoglobin ([oxy-Hb], [deoxy-Hb]) with a 52-channel NIRS system during simple mental arithmetic in ten healthy volunteers over the prefrontal cortex. We found that eight of the ten subjects showed a relative focal bilateral increase of [oxy-Hb] in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in parallel with a decrease in the medial area of the anterior prefrontal cortex (APFC). The [oxy-Hb] response in left DLPFC and APFC was significant, while the [deoxy-Hb] response was clearly smaller and not significant. These observations were discussed within the context of "focal activation/surround deactivation".
Pfurtscheller
Gert
G
Laboratory of Brain-Computer Interfaces, Institute for Knowledge Discovery, Graz University of Technology, A-8010 Graz, Austria. pfurtscheller@tugraz.at
Bauernfeind
Günther
G
Wriessnegger
Selina Christin
SC
Neuper
Christa
C
D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000378:metabolism*; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D012016:Reference Values; D019265:Spectroscopy, Near-Infrared; D055815:Young Adult
D006454:Hemoglobins; D010108:Oxyhemoglobins; C100003:deoxyhemoglobin