Usefulness of NIRS in the neurofeedback treatment for depression based on its pathophysiology

Abstract

The social burden of depression is enormous . The development of its neuroscience-based therapy is an urgent issue. In our recent fMRI neuroimaging studies on depression, we found the function of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) is decreased, while that of posterior cingulate (PCC) is increased. We also reported that this was improved with antidepressant and that the DLPFC-PCC functional connectivity is a potential biomarker of depression.DLPFC and PCC have an antagonistic effect, therefore we carried out clinical experiment of neurofeedback (NF) targeting DLPFC using fMRI, and found the antidepressive effect which suggested a potent non-pharmacological treatment for depression. In order to develop a more practical NF treatment for depression, fNIRS-NF targeting DLPFC was carried out on healthy subjects evaluating by depression questionnaires such as BDI and RRQ, and fMRI brain functional change. In this session, we will introduce our research and give a personal opinion on the future of fNIRS.