A Preliminary Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study in Adolescent and Adult Patients with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Symptoms

Tomohiko Matsuo^1,2*, Sachie Oshima¹, Yasuto Kunii¹, Takaaki Okano², Hirooki Yabe¹, Shinichi Niwa³

¹Department of Neuropsychiatry, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University, Fukushima, Japan.
²Kumamoto Medical Clinic for Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychiatry, Kumamoto, Japan.
³Department of Psychiatry, Aizu Medical Center, School of Medicine, Fukushima Medical University,Fukushima, Japan.

DOI: 10.4236/ojpsych.2014.44046                

Abstract

Prefrontal dysfunction in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD) has been repeatedly detected on a behavioral level, and various brain-imaging studies have elucidated the pathophysiology of AD/HD. Recent advances in near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) have enabled noninvasive investigations of brain function in various mental disorders, especially major depression, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. The objective of this preliminary study was to use NIRS to evaluate changes in frontal lobe blood flow in post childhood or adult patients with AD/HD symptoms. The subjects included five patients with a range of mental disorders and AD/HD symptoms, and a matched (age, sex, and dominant hand) control group of five healthy subjects. We compared the changes in cerebral blood flow during verbal fluency tasks between the two groups. The duration of the elevated oxygenated hemoglobin was notably shorter in the AD/HD group than that in the healthy control group. We suggest that the shorter elevation durations of oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations might be a biological indicator for post childhood or adult AD/HD or of impaired executive functioning.

Keywords

Adult, Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder, Executive Function, Near-Infrared Spectroscopy, Verbal Fluency Task

Conflicts of Interest

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

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