Psychiatry Investig.
2024 Oct;21(10):1065-1075. 10.30773/pi.2023.0447.
Association of Compensatory Mechanisms in Prefrontal Cortex and Impaired Anatomical Correlates in Semantic Verbal Fluency: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Seoul National University College of Natural Sciences, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 2Department of Neuropsychiatry, Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, Seongnam, Republic of Korea
- 3Department of Health Science and Technology, Graduate School of Convergence Science and Technology, Seoul National University, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- 4Department of Psychiatry, Seoul National University College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea
- KMID: 2560160
- DOI: http://doi.org/10.30773/pi.2023.0447
Abstract
Objective
Semantic verbal fluency (SVF) engages cognitive functions such as executive function, mental flexibility, and semantic memory. Left frontal and temporal lobes, particularly the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), are crucial for SVF. This study investigates SVF and associated neural processing in older adults with mild SVF impairment and the relationship between structural abnormalities in the left IFG and functional activation during SVF in those individuals.
Methods
Fifty-four elderly individuals with modest level of mild cognitive impairment whose global cognition were preserved to normal but exhibited mild SVF impairment were participated. Prefrontal oxyhemoglobin (HbO2) activation and frontal cortical thickness were collected from the participants using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and brain MRI, respectively. We calculated the β coefficient of HbO2 activation induced by tasks, and performed correlation analysis between SVF induced HbO2 activation and cortical thickness in frontal areas.
Results
We observed increased prefrontal activation during SVF task compared to the resting and control task. The activation distinct to SVF was identified in the midline superior and left superior prefrontal regions (p<0.05). Correlation analysis revealed an inverse relationship between SVF-specific activation and cortical thickness in the left IFG, particularly in pars triangularis (r(54)=-0.304, p=0.025).
Conclusion
The study contributes to understanding the relationship between reduced cortical thickness in left IFG and increased functional activity in cognitively normal individuals with mild SVF impairment, providing implications on potential compensatory mechanisms for cognitive preservation.
- Full Text Links
-
- Actions
-
Cited
- CITED
-
- Close
- Share
-
- Similar articles
-
- Two-channel Near-infrared Spectroscopic Analysis of Association of Paranoia Symptoms with Prefrontal Activation
- Increased Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex Activation during Accurate Eyewitness Memory Retrieval: An Exploratory Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study
- Prefrontal hemodynamic responses and the degree of flow experience among occupational therapy students during their performance of a cognitive task
- Abnormal Prefrontal Brain Activation During a Verbal Fluency Task in Treatment-Resistant Depression Using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
- The Relationship between Depression Severity and Prefrontal Hemodynamic Changes in Adolescents with Major Depression Disorder: A Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study
