Masahiro Iwakiri

Frontal Activity during the Digit Symbol Substitution Test Determined by Multichannel Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Backgrounds: The digit symbol substitution test (DSST) is a clinically useful and widely accepted tool for the detection of various psychiatric disorders. Investigating neural activity during the DSST is useful when considering the relationship between the poor performance on the DSST and neurocognitive deficits. However, obtaining reliable functional imaging of the neural mechanisms associated with this test is challenging due to motion artifacts. Aims: To circumvent this problem, we examined frontal lobe activity during the DSST using multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy, a noninvasive functional imaging technique that does not interfere with the DSST procedure. Methods: Twenty-five healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Changes in the concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin (oxyHb) during the DSST were determined bilaterally in 52 measurement points (channels) on the frontal area. Results: We found significant increases in oxyHb in more than 70% of the channels, with the intensity of the increase being more pronounced in the left hemisphere. Several channels showed significant positive correlations between changes in oxyHb and DSST performance. Some of the channels with a significant increase in oxyHb during the DSST did not show a correlation with the DSST performance. Conclusions: Our findings indicate that the DSST could prove useful as a frontal lobe stimulating task. Further examinations of DSST/near-infrared spectroscopy analyses of neural mechanisms in patients with psychiatric and neurological diseases are necessary to assess its effectiveness in clinical practice for the evaluation of neuropsychopathology.

Normalization and mental health support: a comparative study on day-activity facilities for people with mental disabilities in Japan and Sweden

In many countries, including Japan and Sweden, societal help and support for people with mental disabilities have been reformed, with the aim of achieving a more normalized life and closer integration in the local community for this group. Day-activity facilities may be one tool for such a transition. In this article, three day-activity facilities in Japan and Sweden respectively are examined and compared. Managers at all six units were interviewed and given identical – qualitative and quantitative – questions. The data were systematically cross-culturally compared, and the results presented in seven categories: general conditions, activities, participants, organization/management/staff, finances, ideological features, and factors of success and failure. There is an overarching similarity between the two countries, but there are also differences in some respects. The Japanese units are private, while the Swedish units are publicly run. In both countries a broad range of activities are offered in the units. The Japanese units seem to stress factors of friendship, a calm environment and feeling comfortable and safe, while the Swedish units are somewhat more directed towards personal relations, support in daily life and job preparation. Day-activity facilities seem to facilitate normalization and integration in the local community, but need to be continuously scrutinized and improved.

Contents Vol. 57, 2008

N. Brunello, Milan G. Erdmann, Berlin S. Galderisi, Naples U. Hegerl, Leipzig K. Hirata, Tochigi Y. Koga, Tokyo J. Kornhuber, Erlangen P.T. Loosen, Nashville, Tenn. D. Lehmann, Zürich K.P. Lesch, Würzburg G.N. Papadimitriou, Athens M. Reuter, Bonn F. Rösler, Marburg G. Ruigt, Oss J.K. Rybakowski, Poznan F. Schneider, Aachen D. Souery, Brussels P. Willner, Swansea H. Yoneda, Osaka Associate Editors