Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine and Biomedical Research Institute, Pusan National University Hospital, Busan, Republic of Korea.
OBELAB Inc., Seoul, Republic of Korea.
PLoS One. 2023 Aug 10;18(8):e0285013. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0285013. eCollection 2023.
This study was performed to investigate the usefulness of functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) by conducting a comparative analysis of hemodynamic activation detected by fNIRS and positron emission tomography (PET) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Participants were divided into four groups: the subjective memory impairment (SMI), amnestic MCI (aMCI), non-amnestic MCI (naMCI), and AD groups. We recorded the hemodynamic response during the semantic verbal fluency task (SVFT) using a commercial wireless continuous-wave NIRS system. The correlation between the parameters of the neuroimaging assessments among the groups was analyzed. Region of interest-based comparisons showed that the four groups had significantly different hemodynamic responses during SVFT in the bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). The linear mixed effect model result indicates that the mean ΔHbO2 from the bilateral DLPFC regions showed a significant positive correlation to the overall FDG-PET after controlling for age and group differences in the fNIRS signals. Amyloid PET signals tended to better differentiate the AD group from other groups, and fNIRS signals tended to better differentiate the SMI group from other groups. In addition, a comparison between the group pairs revealed a mirrored pattern between the hippocampal volume and hemodynamic response in the DLPFC. The hemodynamic response detected by fNIRS showed a significant correlation with metabolic and anatomical changes associated with disease progression. Therefore, fNIRS may be considered as a screening tool to predict the hemodynamic and metabolic statuses of the brain in patients with MCI and AD.
本研究旨在通过对比分析轻度认知障碍（MCI）和阿尔茨海默病（AD）患者的功能近红外光谱（fNIRS）和正电子发射断层扫描（PET）及磁共振成像（MRI）检测到的血流动力学激活，来探讨 fNIRS 的有效性。参与者被分为四个组：主观记忆障碍（SMI）、遗忘型 MCI（aMCI）、非遗忘型 MCI（naMCI）和 AD 组。我们使用商用无线连续波 NIRS 系统记录了语义流畅性任务（SVFT）期间的血流动力学反应。对组间神经影像学评估参数进行了相关性分析。基于感兴趣区域的比较显示，在双侧背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）中，四个组在 SVFT 期间的血流动力学反应存在显著差异。线性混合效应模型结果表明，在控制了年龄和 fNIRS 信号组间差异后，来自双侧 DLPFC 区域的平均 ΔHbO2 与总体 FDG-PET 呈显著正相关。淀粉样 PET 信号倾向于更好地区分 AD 组与其他组，而 fNIRS 信号倾向于更好地区分 SMI 组与其他组。此外，组间比较揭示了海马体积与 DLPFC 血流动力学反应之间的镜像模式。fNIRS 检测到的血流动力学反应与疾病进展相关的代谢和解剖变化显著相关。因此，fNIRS 可以被视为一种筛选工具，用于预测 MCI 和 AD 患者的大脑血流动力学和代谢状态。
