Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Reveals Abnormal Hemodynamics in the Left Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex of Menopausal Depression Patients

Abstract

Background/Objective . Menopausal depression (MD) is characterized by depressive symptoms along with hormonal fluctuations. We investigate brain function alteration between major depressive disorder (MDD) and MD. Methods . The difference in oxygenated hemoglobin (Oxy-Hb) for the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was compared retrospectively among 90 females presented with 30 MDD, 30 MD, and 30 healthy controls (HCs) using verbal fluency task (VFT) with near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Results . We observed a significant difference in Oxy-Hb alteration in the left dorsolateral PFC (DLPFC) using VFT with NIRS (channel 18,<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M1"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.007</mml:mn></mml:math>) between the MD and MDD groups. A significant difference in Oxy-Hb levels was observed among the three groups in the bilateral DLPFC (channels 18, 27, 33, 39, 41, and 45;<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M2"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.05</mml:mn></mml:math>). Compared to the HCs, the MD group presented lower Oxy-Hb activation in the right DLPFC (channel 41;<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M3"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>=</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.048</mml:mn></mml:math>) and the left DLPFC (channels 18, 39, and 45;<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M4"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.05</mml:mn></mml:math>), and the MDD group presented lower Oxy-Hb activation in the right DLPFC (channels 27, 33, and 41;<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M5"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.05</mml:mn></mml:math>) and the left DLPFC (channels 39 and 45;<mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" id="M6"><mml:mi>P</mml:mi><mml:mo>&lt;</mml:mo><mml:mn fontstyle="italic">0.05</mml:mn></mml:math>). Conclusion . Abnormal hemodynamics of the left DLPFC can differentiate MD from MDD by NIRS.