Use of Virtual Reality Working Memory Task and Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy to Assess Brain Hemodynamic Responses to Methylphenidate in ADHD Children

Abstract

Virtual reality (VR) neuropsychological tests have emerged as a method to explore drug effects in real-life contexts in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a useful tool to measure brain activity during VR tasks in ADHD children with motor restlessness. The present study aimed to explore the acute effects of methylphenidate (MPH) on behavioral performance and brain activity during a VR-based working memory task simulating real-life classroom settings in ADHD children. In total, 23 children with ADHD performed a VR n-back task before and 2 h after MPH administration concurrent with measurements of oxygenated hemoglobin signal changes with fNIRS. Altogether, 12 healthy control (HC) subjects participated in the same task but did not receive MPH treatment. Reaction time (RT) was shortened after MPH treatment in the 1-back condition, but changes in brain activation were not observed. In the 2-back condition, activation of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was decreased alongside behavioral changes such as shorter RT, lower RT variability, and higher accuracy after MPH administration. Bilateral mPFC activation in the 2-back condition inversely correlated with task accuracy in the pre-MPH condition; this inverse correlation was not observed after MPH administration. In ADHD children, deactivation of the default mode network mediated by mPFC reduced during high working memory load, which was restored through MPH treatment. Our results suggest that the combination of VR classroom tasks and fNIRS examination makes it easy to assess drug effects on brain activity in ADHD children in settings simulating real-life.

Using fNIRS to evaluate ADHD medication effects on neuronal activity: A systematic literature review

“…Similarly, 42.9% took fNIRS measurements twice (once on medication and once off medication) for each of two visits (up to 1 month apart), which allowed for same day on-/off-medication analysis at two timepoints. Finally, two studies ( Monden et al, 2012a ; Jang et al, 2021 ) also took two fNIRS measurements on the same day, but only for a single visit (once on medication and once off medication).…”

Short-Term High-Intensity Interval Exercise Promotes Motor Cortex Plasticity and Executive Function in Sedentary Females

“…The data in the first 10 s of each condition was used as a baseline for HbO, which was then subtracted from the HbO values of each task condition to obtain final HbO data. According to the previous studies (Zhang et al, 2020;Jang et al, 2021)…”

“…The modified Beer Lambert Law (MBLL) was used to convert raw light intensities into concentration changes in oxygenated hemoglobin ( HbO2). The region of interest (ROI) was selected based on previous study (Zhang et al, 2020;Jang et al, 2021). The MNI coordinates for each channel were defined base on the equipment coordinates.…”

Opportunities and Limitations of Mobile Neuroimaging Technologies in Educational Neuroscience

“…Using this experimental design with representative stimuli allowed researchers to measure activation in the prefrontal cortex and examine how this was related to quiz accuracy. Others have used fNIRS in combination with virtual reality (VR) neuropsychological tests to approximate real‐life contexts in the laboratory, to address questions about working memory (Jang et al, 2021 ) and reading development (Blume et al, 2020 ) for children with Attention‐Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in the context of virtual classrooms. The combination of fNIRS and VR‐based real‐life context allowed researchers to assess brain activity while controlling the classroom setting to limit any extraneous factors.…”