Akiko Adachi

Reduced frontopolar activation during verbal fluency task associated with poor social functioning in late‐onset major depression: Multi‐channel near‐infrared spectroscopy study

Aim:  Functional neuroimaging studies to date have indicated prefrontal dysfunction in late‐onset major depression (LOD). The relationships between prefrontal dysfunction and clinical characteristics including social functioning, however, have been unclear. The objective of the present study was to evaluate prefrontal hemodynamic response related to an executive task in LOD and to assess the relationship between activation in the prefrontal regions and clinical characteristics including social functioning.

A multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy study of prefrontal cortex activation during working memory task in major depressive disorder

Many neuropsychological studies demonstrate impairment of working memory in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, there are not enough functional neuroimaging studies of MDD patients seeking for the underlying brain activity relevant to working memory function. The objective of this study is to evaluate prefrontal hemodynamic response related to working memory function in patients with MDD. Twenty-four subjects with MDD and 26 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects were recruited for the present study. We measured hemoglobin concentration changes in the prefrontal and superior temporal cortical surface areas during the execution of working memory task (WM; 2-back, letter version) using 52-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), which enables real-time monitoring of task-related changes in cerebral blood volumes in the cortical surface areas. MDD patients showed a smaller increase in lateral prefrontal and superior temporal cortex activation during the 2-back task and associated poorer task performance than healthy controls. The results coincided with previous findings in terms of working memory deficits and prefrontal cortex dysfunction in MDD patients, but contradicted with some previous fMRI studies that suggested increased cortical activity during the working memory task in patients with depression. The contradiction may, in part, be explained by a relatively low level of cognitive demand imposed on the subjects in the present study.

The relationship between the prefrontal activation during a verbal fluency task and stress-coping style in major depressive disorder: A near-infrared spectroscopy study

This study aimed to identify coping styles used by patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) in comparison with those used by healthy controls, and to explore their association with prefrontal hemodynamic response related to a cognitive task. Regional hemodynamic changes were monitored during a verbal fluency task (VFT) using a 52-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) apparatus in 26 MDD patients in depressive state and 30 matched healthy controls, and their correlation with coping styles assessed by Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS) were examined. We found the Emotion-oriented coping style was significantly higher, whereas the Task-oriented coping and Avoidance-oriented coping style were lower in the MDD group compared with controls. Emotion-oriented coping style positively correlated with subjective assessment of depression severity. Regional hemodynamic changes were significantly smaller in the MDD group than in the control group in prefrontal and temporal regions, and positively correlated with Task-oriented coping (adaptive coping) in the bilateral ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, and the midline fronto-polar and bilateral orbitofrontal cortex regions. These findings suggest coping styles may be considered an important source of knowledge for patients who struggle with the illness and for mental health professionals who work with MDD patients, and that hemodynamic response in the ventrolateral and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, midline fronto-polar, and orbitofrontal cortex regions during a VFT may reflect the adaptive coping (Task-oriented coping) style in MDD patients in depressive state.

Reduced prefrontal cortex activation during the working memory task associated with poor social functioning in late-onset depression: Multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy study

A number of studies have demonstrated impairment of working memory (WM) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD). However, the relationship between the underlying brain activity associated with impairment of WM function in MDD patients and their clinical characteristics is not yet clear. The objective of this study is to evaluate prefrontal hemodynamic response related to a WM task in patients with late-onset depression (LOD) and to assess the relationship between activation in the prefrontal cortex and clinical characteristics. Thirty-six patients with LOD and 35 age- and gender-matched healthy controls were recruited for the present study. We measured hemoglobin concentration changes in the prefrontal and temporal regions during a WM (2-back, letter version) task using 52-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). LOD patients were associated with reduced increase in prefrontal and temporal activation compared with healthy controls. Moreover, reduced activation in the prefrontal and temporal regions was significantly related to lower scores on the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS) in the patient group. More specifically, the reduced hemodynamic response in the frontopolar region was associated with functional impairment related to interpersonal relationship factor scores on the SASS. These findings suggest that hemodynamic response in prefrontal and temporal regions during a WM task may act as a biological marker of social functioning in LOD patients.

Relationship between prefrontal function during a cognitive task and social functioning in male Japanese workers: A multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy study

To investigate whether prefrontal function during a cognitive task reflects the social functioning of male Japanese workers, prefrontal function during a working memory task in 181 male workers was measured by multi-channel near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Social functioning was assessed using the Social Adaptation Self-Evaluation Scale (SASS). The results indicated that cortical oxygenation level increases in dorsolateral prefrontal region showed significant positive correlations with the interest and motivation factor scores on the SASS. These results suggest that dorsolateral prefrontal function is associated with the interest and motivation factor in social functioning in male workers and that NIRS could be an addition to the medical tools for monitoring these characteristics on mental health examination.

Association between social functioning and prefrontal hemodynamic responses in elderly adults.

Social functioning has received widespread attention as one of the most important outcomes in psychiatric disorders and has been related to cognitive functioning and the underlying brain activity. Cognitive decline, however, appears not only in the psychiatric population but also in aged individuals. In our previous study, we demonstrated a significant relationship between social functioning and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in patients with depression. However, it has not been shown whether the above relationship could be extended to healthy populations. The purpose of the present study was to investigate a possible association between social functioning and prefrontal hemodynamic responses in healthy elderly adults by using a non-invasive and low-constraint functional neuroimaging technique, near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Study subjects included 55 healthy, elderly volunteers. We measured hemodynamic responses over prefrontal cortical (PFC) areas during the verbal fluency task by using multi-channel NIRS and analyzed the relationship between task-associated hemodynamic responses and social functioning as measured by the social adaptation self-evaluation scale (SASS). A significant positive relationship was observed between the SASS total score and PFC activation. Our findings suggest that PFC activation is associated with social functioning in healthy elderly adults. Furthermore, hemodynamic responses assessed using non-invasive NIRS could be a useful biological marker of these characteristics.

The Cd5+ B Cells and Myasthenia Gravis

A high frequency of CD5+ B lymphocytes in the peripheral blood of patients with myasthenia gravis (MG) has been reported recently. These results seem to indicate an attractive linkage between CD5+ B lymphocytes and autoantibodies against Acetylcholine receptor in MG. We examined the frequency of CD5+ B cells in 20 patients with MG and 21 normal healthy controls by two-color flow cytometry. However, there were no significant differences in the percentages of CD5+ B lymphocytes between the two groups. We also examined the frequency of CD5+ B lymphocytes in the resected thymus of patients. The frequency of CD5+ B lymphocytes in the thymus was low and similar pattern to that in the peripheral blood. We checked the antibody (Ab) production against the human acetylcholine receptor in either CD5+ B or CD5- B lymphocytes using B lymphoblastoid cell line generated from the lymphocytes of 11 patients with anti-AChR Abs in the sera. Abs against the AChR in the human were mostly produced by CD5- B, not CD5+ B lymphocytes. The anti-AChR Abs (IgG) production of CD5+ B cells and CD5- B cells (mean +/- SD) were 6.8 +/- 2.4 fmol/ml and 18.5 +/- 17.6 fmol/ml, respectively. These results suggest that in MG, the frequencies of the CD5+ B lymphocytes in PBL may be genetic background and that there may be no strong linages between AChR Ab production and CD5+ B lymphocytes.

Detection of carbapenem resistance in clinical mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates.

Of 19 isolates of mucoid Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 2 isolates showed imipenem resistance conferred by reduced OprD production. Imipenem resistance was detected by the MicroScan broth microdilution and Etest methods, but minimum inhibitory concentrations could not be determined by the Vitek system for an isolate. In cases where susceptibility cannot be determined by the broth microdilution methods, Etest results would be valuable for effective treatment.