TITLE:
Association between Sub-Threshold Affective Symptoms and Prefrontal Activation in Non-Clinical Population―An NIRS Study
AUTHORS:
Koichiro Fujimaki, Hidenori Takemoto, Shigeru Morinobu
KEYWORDS:
Sub-Threshold Affective Symptoms, Apathy, Feelings of Stress, Serial Arithmetic Task, Prefrontal Cortex, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy
JOURNAL NAME:
Psychology,
Vol.5 No.9,
July
21,
2014
ABSTRACT: Only a
few studies have examined the relationship between self-assessment of affective
symptoms and brain activation in a non-clinical population. The aim of the
present study was to assess this relationship and examine the underlying
cortical mechanisms in a non-clinical population. Seventy-nine healthy male volunteers
were assessed for affective symptoms using the Zung Self-rating Depression
Scale (SDS), for apathy using the Apathy Scale (AS), and for feelings of stress
using the Stress Arousal Checklist (SACL). Participants also performed a serial
arithmetic task according to the Uchida-Kraepelin performance test while
hemoglobin concentration changes were assessed on the surface of the prefrontal
cortex (PFC) using 32-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). The activity
on the right side of PFC had a significant negative correlation with the SDS
score. The AS and SACL scores were positively correlated with the SDS score.
Furthermore, in a multiple regression analysis, SDS scores were predicted by
the activity of the right PFC, AS scores, and SACL scores. These results
suggest that the association between the cortical activation changes, apathy,
and feelings of stress may objectively identify individuals with sub-threshold
affective symptoms.