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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Psychiatry
Sec. Mood Disorders
Volume 15 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1428425

Relationship of prefrontal cortex activity with anhedonia and cognitive function in major depressive disorder: an fNIRS study

Provisionally accepted
Huanhuan Fan Huanhuan Fan Qing Li Qing Li Yue Du Yue Du Yushun Yan Yushun Yan Rong-Jun Ni Rong-Jun Ni Jinxue Wei Jinxue Wei Liansheng Zhao Liansheng Zhao Xiao Yang Xiao Yang XiaoHong Ma XiaoHong Ma *
  • West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Background: Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with deficits in cognitive function, thought to be related to underlying decreased hedonic experiences. Further research is needed to fully elucidate the role of functional brain activity in this relationship. In this study, we investigated the neurofunctional correlate of the interplay between cognitive function and hedonic experiences in medication-free MDD using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).: We examine differences of brain activation corresponding to the verbal fluency test (VFT) between MDD patients and healthy controls (HCs). Fifty-six MDD patients and 35 HCs underwent fMRI scanning while performing the VFT. In exploratory analyses, cognitive performance, as assessed by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB), four dimensions of hedonic processing (desire, motivation, effort, and consummatory pleasure) measured by the Dimensional Anhedonia Rating Scale (DARS), and relative changes in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration during the VFT were compared across groups. Results: Patients with MDD demonstrated impairments in sustained attention and working memory, accompanied by lower total and subscale scores on the DARS.Compared to healthy controls, MDD patients exhibited reduced activation MDD patients exhibited reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) during the VFT task (t = 2.32 to 4.77, p < 0.001 to 0.02, FDR corrected). DARS motivation, desire, and total scores as well as sustained attention, were positively correlated with activation in the dorsolateral PFC and Broca's area (p < 0.05, FDR corrected).These findings indicate that changes in prefrontal lobe oxygenated hemoglobin levels, a region implicated in hedonic motivation and cognitive function, may serve as potential biomarkers for interventions targeting individuals with MDD.Our results corroborate the clinical consensus that the prefrontal cortex is a primary target for non-invasive neuromodulatory treatments for depression.

    Keywords: Anhedonia, Hedonic Processing, Major Depressive Disorder, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, sustained attention, working memory

    Received: 06 May 2024; Accepted: 29 Aug 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Fan, Li, Du, Yan, Ni, Wei, Zhao, Yang and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: XiaoHong Ma, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, Sichuan Province, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.