The fronto-cingulate executive function in recurrent depression revealed by the magnetic source imaging

Objective To investigate the variation of executive function of fronto-cingulate cortex in spatio-temporal sequence in recurrent depressed patients.Methods Eighteen recurrent depressed patients and twenty-one age-,gender- and education- matched healthy controls were involved in the Stroop word-color interference test to detect the executive function of anterior cingulate and prefrontal regions by magnetoencephaloraphy scanning.Results 1.Compared to healthy controls,the increased activation of brain regions in depressed patients during different time periods were separately shown as follows( t represents activation strength):( 1 ) 100 ～ 200 ms:the right anterior cingulate gyrus ( t =1.81,T value means activation strength),the bilateral medial frontal gyrus ( t =1.91,t =1.86),the left superior frontal gyms( t =1.79 ),the right middle frontal gyrus( t =1.82 ),the right inferior frontal gyrus ( t =1.82 ).( 2 ) 200 ～ 300 ms:the left anterior cingulate gyrus ( t =1.82 ).( 3 ) 250 ～ 350 ms:the left anterior cingulate gyrus ( t =2.67 ),the left medial frontal gyrus ( t =2.43 ),the left inferior frontal gyrus ( t=1.91 ).(4)300 ～400ms:the left anterior frontal gyrus(t=2.26),the bilateral inferior gyrus( t=1.97,t=2.66),the left medial frontal gyrus(t=2.35).(5)350 ～450ms:the left anterior cingulate gyrus(t=2.02),the left medial frontal gyrus ( t =2.00),the bilateral inferior frontal gyrus ( t =1.74,t =1.78 ).( 6 ) 400 ～ 500 ms:the left anterior cingulate gyrus( t=2.01 ),the left medial frontal gyrus( t =1.97).2.Compared to healthy controls,patients showed decreased activation in the left middle frontal gyms ( t =1.79) and the left superior gyrus(t =1.76) in 200 ～ 300 ms.Conclusion Executive dysfunction is reflected in depressed patients with the activation inefficiency in anterior cingulate and prefrontal regions in spatio-temporal sequence. Key words: Depression; Executive function; Magnetoencephaloraphy; Cingulate gyrus