Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study
Abstract This study aimed to investigate the functionality of the prefrontal cortex in patients with unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar depression (BD) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a verbal fluency task (VFT). Additionally, it evaluated the reliability of fNIRS as a d...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-07-01
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05896-z |
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| author | Lan Mou Yuqi Shen Boyuan Wu Chengyu Zhang Jiayun Zhu Qian Tan Xiaomei Zhang Zefeng Wang Zhongxia Shen |
| author_facet | Lan Mou Yuqi Shen Boyuan Wu Chengyu Zhang Jiayun Zhu Qian Tan Xiaomei Zhang Zefeng Wang Zhongxia Shen |
| author_sort | Lan Mou |
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| description | Abstract This study aimed to investigate the functionality of the prefrontal cortex in patients with unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar depression (BD) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a verbal fluency task (VFT). Additionally, it evaluated the reliability of fNIRS as a diagnostic tool for cognitive assessments through a deep learning approach using one-dimensional convolutional networks. The study included 73 patients with UD, 59 patients with BD, and 40 healthy controls (HC). Hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex were recorded using fNIRS during the VFT. Differences in oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations across the three groups were compared, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated for each region of interest. Both UD and BD patients demonstrated significantly reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex compared to healthy controls. UD patients showed notably lower activation values than BD patients in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontopolar prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The highest classification accuracy (79.57%) was observed in the left orbitofrontal cortex. The UD group had the largest area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0.99) in the left orbitofrontal cortex, while the BD group had the largest AUC (0.91) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The HC group exhibited the largest AUC (0.73) in the same region. The DLPFC, FPC, lOFC, and lVLPFC may serve as biomarker regions for differentiating UD from BD. The combination of fNIRS and the VFT shows promise as a supplementary diagnostic tool for mental health disorders. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-df5bb25ea299481286d8380c9a7b0f4c |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-07-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
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| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-df5bb25ea299481286d8380c9a7b0f4c2025-08-20T04:01:41ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-07-0115111310.1038/s41598-025-05896-zDifferent prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy studyLan Mou0Yuqi Shen1Boyuan Wu2Chengyu Zhang3Jiayun Zhu4Qian Tan5Xiaomei Zhang6Zefeng Wang7Zhongxia Shen8Sleep Medical Center of Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou UniversitySchool of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical UniversitySchool of Information Engineering, Huzhou UniversityDepartment of Psychosis Studies, Institute of Psychiatry Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College LondonSchool of Information Engineering, Huzhou UniversitySchool of Mental Health, Wenzhou Medical UniversitySleep Medical Center of Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou UniversitySchool of Information Engineering, Huzhou UniversitySleep Medical Center of Huzhou Third Municipal Hospital, the Affiliated Hospital of Huzhou UniversityAbstract This study aimed to investigate the functionality of the prefrontal cortex in patients with unipolar depression (UD) and bipolar depression (BD) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during a verbal fluency task (VFT). Additionally, it evaluated the reliability of fNIRS as a diagnostic tool for cognitive assessments through a deep learning approach using one-dimensional convolutional networks. The study included 73 patients with UD, 59 patients with BD, and 40 healthy controls (HC). Hemodynamic responses in the prefrontal cortex were recorded using fNIRS during the VFT. Differences in oxygenated hemoglobin concentrations across the three groups were compared, and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves were generated for each region of interest. Both UD and BD patients demonstrated significantly reduced activation in the prefrontal cortex compared to healthy controls. UD patients showed notably lower activation values than BD patients in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, frontopolar prefrontal cortex, left orbitofrontal cortex, and left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex. The highest classification accuracy (79.57%) was observed in the left orbitofrontal cortex. The UD group had the largest area under the ROC curve (AUC = 0.99) in the left orbitofrontal cortex, while the BD group had the largest AUC (0.91) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The HC group exhibited the largest AUC (0.73) in the same region. The DLPFC, FPC, lOFC, and lVLPFC may serve as biomarker regions for differentiating UD from BD. The combination of fNIRS and the VFT shows promise as a supplementary diagnostic tool for mental health disorders.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05896-zBipolar disorderUnipolar depressionFNIRSVerbal fluency task |
| spellingShingle | Lan Mou Yuqi Shen Boyuan Wu Chengyu Zhang Jiayun Zhu Qian Tan Xiaomei Zhang Zefeng Wang Zhongxia Shen Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study Scientific Reports Bipolar disorder Unipolar depression FNIRS Verbal fluency task |
| title | Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| title_full | Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| title_fullStr | Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| title_short | Different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| title_sort | different prefrontal cortex activity patterns in bipolar and unipolar depression during verbal fluency tasks based on functional near infrared spectroscopy study |
| topic | Bipolar disorder Unipolar depression FNIRS Verbal fluency task |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-05896-z |
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