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Hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex during digit span task: a near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Hitoshi Kaneko1, Toru Yoshikawa, Kenji Nomura

  • 1Center for Developmental Clinical Psychology and Psychiatry, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan. kaneko@cc.nagoya-u.ac.jp

Neuropsychobiology
|December 24, 2010
PubMed
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The digit span backward task significantly increases oxygenated hemoglobin in the prefrontal cortex, indicating greater cognitive demand than the forward task. This suggests the backward task engages executive functions more intensely.

Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Cognitive Psychology

Background:

  • Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) measures brain activity by detecting changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin.
  • The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is crucial for executive functions and cognitive tasks.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate prefrontal cortex (PFC) activation during the digit span task using NIRS.
  • To compare the cognitive demands of digit span forward and backward tasks.

Main Methods:

  • Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) was used to measure oxy-hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) and deoxy-hemoglobin (deoxy-Hb) concentrations in the PFC.
  • 22 healthy undergraduate students performed digit span forward and backward tasks.
  • Hemoglobin concentration changes were analyzed between baseline and task periods.

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Main Results:

  • Digit span backward showed significantly higher oxy-Hb during the task compared to baseline.
  • Both digit span tasks exhibited significantly lower deoxy-Hb during task performance.
  • Right-PFC-dominant individuals performed significantly better on the digit span forward task.

Conclusions:

  • The digit span backward task is more cognitively demanding, requiring greater PFC activation than the digit span forward task.
  • NIRS findings indicate that the digit span backward task heavily involves executive functioning.
  • Hemodynamic responses in the PFC differ between forward and backward digit span tasks.