The Relationship between Depression Severity and Prefrontal Hemodynamic Changes in Adolescents with Major Depression Disorder: A Functional Near-infrared Spectroscopy Study
Jeong Eun Shin1, Yun Sung Lee2, Seo Young Park2, Mi Young Jeong3, Jong Kwan Choi4, Ji Hyun Cha4, Yeon Jung Lee5
1Department of Medical Sciences, Graduate School of Soonchunhyang University, Asan, Korea
2Sejong Special Self-Governing City Mental Health Welfare Center, Sejong, Korea
3Department of Psychiatry, Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
4OBELAB Inc, Seoul, Korea
5Department of Psychiatry, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea
Correspondence to: Yeon Jung Lee
Department of Psychiatry, Soonchunhyang University Seoul Hospital, Soonchunhyang University College of Medicine, 59 Daesagwan-ro, Yongsan-gu, Seoul 04401, Korea
E-mail: leeyj1203@schmc.ac.kr
ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8953-5893
Received: March 10, 2023; Revised: May 17, 2023; Accepted: June 17, 2023; Published online: July 27, 2023.
© The Korean College of Neuropsychopharmacology. All rights reserved.

This is an Open-Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Abstract
Objective: Numerous studies have identified hemodynamic changes in adults with major depressive disorder (MDD) by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). However, studies on adolescents with MDD are limited. As adolescence is a stage of rapid brain development, differences may occur depending on age. This study used fNIRS as an objective tool to investigate hemodynamic changes in the frontal lobe according to depression severity and age in adolescents with MDD.
Methods: Thirty adolescents (12 aged 12−15 years and 18 aged 16−18 years) were retrospectively investigated. The Children’s Depression Inventory was used as a psychiatric evaluation scale, fNIRS was used as an objective brain function evaluation tool, and the Verbal Fluency Test was performed.
Results: During the Verbal Fluency Test, in the younger MDD group, oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration increased in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region as the severity of depression increased. In the older MDD group, the oxygenated-hemoglobin concentration decreased in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex region as the severity of depression increased.
Conclusion: These results suggest that fNIRS may be an objective tool for identifying age differences among adolescents with MDD. To generalize the results and verify fNIRS as a potential biomarker tool, follow-up studies with a larger sample group should be conducted.
Keywords: Major depressive disorder; Adolescent; Near-infrared spectroscopy; Biomarker; Prefrontal cortex

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