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Schizophrenia Bulletin 2000 26(4):913-919;
© 2000 by Oxford University Press and the Maryland Psychiatric Research Center (MPRC)
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© Oxford University Press

Reduced Frontal Functional Asymmetry in Schizophrenia During a Cued Continuous Performance Test Assessed With Near-Infrared Spectroscopy

Andreas J. Fallgatter, M.D., Privat-Dozent and Werner K. Strik, Ph.D., M.D., Professor
University of Wuerzburg Wuerzburg, Germany
University of Bern Bern, Switzerland

Send reprint requests to Dr. A.J. Fallgatter, Dept. of Psychiatry, University Hospital Wuerzburg, Fuechsleinstraße 15, 97080 Wuerzburg, Germany; e-mail: afallgat{at}mail.uni-wuerzburg.de

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) allows noninvasive, in vivo measurement of changes in the concentrations of oxygenated hemoglobin (O2Hb) and deoxygenated hemoglobin (HHb) in brain tissue based on their distinctive optical properties. A previous NIRS investigation on healthy subjects (Fallgatter and Strik 1997) found indications of right frontal activation during a Continuous Performance Test (CPT) that are consistent with results from positron emission tomography (PET) and event-related potentials studies. The indications consisted of right frontal blood oxygenation changes, consistent with a hemodynamic response, along with a significant left frontal increase in HHb. The current study investigated whether this characteristic lateralized frontal NIRS activation pattern was present in a group of nine schizophrenia patients during the execution of a CPT. In contrast to the previous study, no overall or hemispheric activation effects were found in the schizophrenia subjects. Direct comparison of the results of the two studies confirmed group differences, with a lack of lateralized activation in schizophrenia patients. Furthermore, a trend of higher left/right HHb ratios at rest and during activation was found in patients with schizophrenia. The finding is interpreted as a sign of reduced specific lateralized frontal reactivity, possibly based on a left hemisphere functional deficit.

Keywords: Near-infrared spectroscopy / schizophrenia / laterality / Continuous Performance Test / brain oxygenation / hemispherical asymmetry


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