A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Examination of the Neural Correlates of Mental Rotation for Individuals With Different Depressive Tendencies

Abstract

The present study aimed to examine the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to process the mental rotation with mirrored stimuli for different depressive tendencies with psychomotor retardation. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we measured brain cortex activation of participants with higher and lower depressive tendencies while performing a left-right paradigm of object mental rotation or a same-different paradigm of subject mental rotation. Behavioral data revealed no differences in reaction time and rotation speed. The fNIRS data revealed a higher deactivation of oxyhemoglobin (HbO) change for the higher depression group in the perceptual stage of object mental rotation with mirrored stimuli in the superior external frontal cortex (BA46), inferior frontal gyrus (BA45), premotor cortex (BA6), and primary motor cortex (BA4) (study 1). In addition, there existed a significant difference between the two groups in premotor cortex (BA6) in subject mental rotation with mirrored stimuli (study 2). These results suggest that the neural mechanism of higher depression individuals connected with psychomotor retardation exists in the frontal and motor areas when processing object mental rotation with mirrored stimuli, and the motor cortex when processing subject mental rotation.

Graph Theory Further Revealed Visual Spatial Working Memory Impairment in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

“… 9 Furthermore, emotions can impact the impairment of visuospatial working memory. 10 The long-term gastrointestinal symptoms experienced by individuals with IBD may induce anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders, consequently resulting in visuospatial memory impairment. 11 …”

“… 12 , 13 The mental rotation task (MRT) is commonly used in psychology to assess visuospatial working memory function, widely used to test visuospatial cognitive impairment. 10 Despite abnormal cognitive performance in IBD patients and compromised visual networks, 14 , 15 our understanding of VSWM deficits in IBD remains incomplete. Based on the MRT, we employed it as the task during Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) scanning to evaluate VSWM in patients with IBD.…”

“…9 Furthermore, emotions can impact the impairment of visuospatial working memory. 10 The long-term gastrointestinal symptoms experienced by individuals with IBD may induce anxiety, depression, and other mental disorders, consequently resulting in visuospatial memory impairment. 11 Visuospatial working memory (VSWM) involves the retention and manipulation of spatial information within a brief timeframe, requiring intricate cooperation among various brain regions.…”

Differential cortical activation patterns: pioneering sub-classification of tinnitus with and without hyperacusis by combining audiometry, gamma oscillations, and hemodynamics

“…This approach also unraveled novel associations between the methods, with simultaneous EEG and fNIRS allowing for a direct comparison between neural oscillations and hemodynamic activity. Identifying changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin (oxy- and deoxy-Hb) concentrations during the same period has also been suggested to make small sample sizes acceptable ( Mauri et al, 2020 ; Pinti et al, 2020 ; Wang et al, 2022 ).…”

Cortical activation for adolescent-onset minor depression and major depressive disorder: an fNIRS study

“…They found prefrontal oxygenation (right VLPFC) was lowest in MDD group with suicidality, compared with MDD group and healthy controls. Wang et al [24] divided 41 college students into higher and lower depressive tendencies groups based on their BDI scores. Higher depression groups showed higher deactivation of oxyhemoglobin (HbO) in the superior external frontal cortex (BA46), inferior frontal gyrus (BA45), premotor cortex (BA6), and primary motor cortex (BA4).…”