Zhao Jiarui, Gong Yulai, Lin Zhenfang, Yang Jie, Zou Jiahuan, He Xia, He Yongsheng
School of Medical and Life Sciences, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Department of Neurology, Affiliated Sichuan Provincial Rehabilitation Hospital of the Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, Sichuan, China.
Front Aging Neurosci. 2025 May 13;17:1562203. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2025.1562203. eCollection 2025.
This study aimed to investigate cortical activation and functional connectivity during Stroop task performance in Parkinson's disease (PD) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).
Forty-five individuals with PD and fourteen healthy controls completed neuropsychological assessments and underwent fNIRS scanning while performing the Stroop task. PD participants were categorized into normal cognition (PD-NC, = 6), mild cognitive impairment (PD-MCI, = 22), and dementia (PDD, = 17) groups. scores were calculated across cognitive domains, including attention, working memory, executive function, language, memory, and visuospatial function.
During the Stroop task, significant hypoactivation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), primary motor cortex (M1), and premotor cortex (PMC) were observed in the PD-MCI group, while PDD patients showed increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). Increased activation in DLPFC was significantly correlated with poorer executive function outcomes. Functional connectivity analysis revealed that both PD-NC and PD-MCI groups had significantly enhanced interhemispheric connectivity compared to healthy controls, with pronounced interhemispheric connectivity in PD-MCI. In contrast, the PDD group exhibited reduced connectivity among the premotor cortex (PMC), ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC), and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), compared to the PD-MCI group.
While PD-MCI patients showed reduced cortical activation relative to PDD, they exhibited extensive connectivity across cortical regions, suggesting an expanded cortical network as compensation. In PDD, the mPFC, left OFC, and left DLPFC displayed the highest cortical activation and alongside reduced functional connectivity, which may reflect widespread atrophy across multiple brain regions. These findings highlight fNIRS as a potential tool for characterizing cognitive impairment stages in PD.
本研究旨在使用功能近红外光谱技术（fNIRS）研究帕金森病（PD）患者在执行Stroop任务时的皮质激活和功能连接情况。
45名PD患者和14名健康对照者完成了神经心理学评估，并在执行Stroop任务时接受了fNIRS扫描。PD参与者被分为正常认知（PD-NC，n = 6）、轻度认知障碍（PD-MCI，n = 22）和痴呆（PDD，n = 17）组。计算了包括注意力、工作记忆、执行功能、语言、记忆和视觉空间功能在内的各个认知领域的得分。
在Stroop任务期间，PD-MCI组在背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）、初级运动皮质（M1）和运动前皮质（PMC）观察到显著的激活不足，而PDD患者在内侧前额叶皮质（mPFC）、眶额皮质（OFC）和背外侧前额叶皮质（DLPFC）显示出激活增加。DLPFC激活增加与较差的执行功能结果显著相关。功能连接分析显示，与健康对照相比，PD-NC组和PD-MCI组的半球间连接均显著增强，PD-MCI组的半球间连接尤为明显。相比之下，与PD-MCI组相比，PDD组在运动前皮质（PMC）、腹外侧前额叶皮质（VLPFC）和眶额皮质（OFC）之间的连接减少。
虽然PD-MCI患者相对于PDD患者表现出皮质激活减少，但他们在皮质区域表现出广泛的连接，这表明皮质网络扩展作为一种补偿。在PDD中，mPFC、左侧OFC和左侧DLPFC显示出最高的皮质激活，同时功能连接减少，这可能反映了多个脑区的广泛萎缩。这些发现突出了fNIRS作为表征PD认知障碍阶段的潜在工具。
