• Mamoru Sato, Yoshihisa Shoji, Kiichiro Morita, Yusuke Kato, Youhei Ishii, Shinya Nakano, and Naohisa Uchimura.
• Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kurume University School of Medicine, Kurume, Japan.
• Psychiatry Clin. Neurosci. 2018 Jul 1; 72 (7): 490-501.

AimThe purpose of this study, using single-event-related near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), was to examine the psychophysiological and social function assessment of 30 schizophrenic patients during a modified rock-paper-scissors task.MethodsWe set up a screen in front of the subjects, on which pictures of hand-gestures for rock, paper, and scissors were randomly presented. Subjects were asked to give verbal answers under the conditions of win, lose, and draw, respectively. Using the 44-channel NIRS system, we evaluated the maximum amplitude of oxygenated hemoglobin, latency, and the area based on the arithmetic mean of resulting values after the task between 30 outpatients with schizophrenia and 30 healthy subjects, and analyzed the frontal pole area, dorsolateral prefrontal region, and parietal association area as regions of interest (ROI).ResultsIn schizophrenic patients, oxygenated hemoglobin changes (Δoxy-Hb) when losing the task showed a significantly lower level of Δoxy-Hb in ROI than controls. In addition, a significant positive correlation was observed between the Global Assessment of Functioning Scale and Δoxy-Hb in ROI, and a significant negative correlation was observed between the Negative Syndrome scale of the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale and Δoxy-Hb in ROI.ConclusionFrom these results, we conclude that Δoxy-Hb levels when performing the modified rock-paper-scissors task assessed using NIRS may be a useful psychophysiological marker to evaluate the cognitive and social functions of schizophrenic patients.© 2018 The Authors. Psychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences published by John Wiley & Sons Australia, Ltd on behalf of Japanese Society of Psychiatry and Neurology.

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