A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study on the Cortical Haemodynamic Responses During the Maastricht Acute...

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychophysiology

Background:

• Neuroimaging studies investigate neural correlates of stress, highlighting prefrontal cortex involvement.
• Understanding stress responses is crucial for mental health research.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex during the Maastricht Acute Stress Test (MAST) using mobile functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS).
• To examine stress responses in an ecological setting.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a between-subject design with MAST (mental arithmetic, ice-water task) and a control condition.
• Recorded functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) data during the tests.
• Measured subjective stress, heart rate, and salivary cortisol to confirm stress induction.

Main Results:

• Significantly increased neural activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) during MAST compared to controls.
• Mental arithmetic task increased dlPFC and OFC neural activity.
• Ice-water task showed a lateral decrease in left dlPFC neural activity.

Conclusions:

• Mobile fNIRS effectively detected prefrontal cortex hemodynamic changes during acute stress.
• The findings support the utility of fNIRS in clinical and applied stress research.
• Differentiated neural responses to cognitive and physical stressors within the prefrontal cortex.