Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy of English-Speaking Adults With Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder During a Verbal Fluency Task

Husain SF 1 , Chiang SK 1 , Vasu AA 1 , Goh CP 1 , McIntyre RS 2 , Tang TB 3 Show all authors , Tran BX 4 , Dang THT 5 , Nguyen TT 6 , Ho RC 1 , Ho CS 1

Affiliations 

  • 1 National University of Singapore, Singapore
  • 2 University Health Network, Toronto, ON, Canada
  • 3 University Teknologi PETRONAS, Seri Iskandar, Perak Darul Ridzuan, Malaysia
  • 4 Hanoi Medical University, Dong Da, Vietnam
  • 5 Institute of Health Economics and Technology, Hanoi, Vietnam
  • 6 Duy Tan University, Da Nang, Vietnam
J Atten Disord, 2023 Nov;27(13):1448-1459.
PMID: 37341192 DOI: 10.1177/10870547231180111

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) provides direct and quantitative assessment of cortical hemodynamic response. It has been used to identify neurophysiological alterations in medication-naïve adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Hence, this study aimed to distinguish both medication-naïve and medicated adults with ADHD from healthy controls (HC).

METHOD: 75 HCs, 75 medication-naïve, and 45 medicated patients took part in this study. fNIRS signals during a verbal fluency task (VFT) were acquired using a 52-channel system and relative oxy-hemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex were quantified.

RESULTS: Prefrontal cortex hemodynamic response was lower in patients than HCs (p ≤ ≤.001). Medication-naïve and medicated patients did not differ in hemodynamic response or symptom severity (p > .05). fNIRS measurements were not associated with any clinical variables (p > .05). 75.8% patients and 76% HCs were correctly classified using hemodynamic response.

CONCLUSION: fNIRS may be a potential diagnostic tool for adult ADHD. These findings need to be replicated in larger validation studies.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

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