Reduced prefrontal activation during performance of the Iowa Gambling Task in patients with bipolar disorder

• Hemodynamic responses of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) during performance of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS).
• During performance of the IGT, BD patients showed significantly decreased oxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) levels in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared with normal controls.
• Changes in oxy-Hb levels in the bilateral OFC and the PFC during the IGT were negatively correlated with total scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression.

The Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) is a complex decision-making task in which monetary wins and losses guide the development of strategies. The objective of this study was to evaluate hemodynamic responses of patients with bipolar disorder (BD) during performance of the IGT using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Participants comprised 13 patients and 15 healthy control subjects who were matched for age, sex, handedness, and intelligence quotient. Relative changes in oxygenated and deoxygenated hemoglobin (oxy-Hb and deoxy-Hb) levels in the frontal region were measured using a 46-channel NIRS system. All subjects were evaluated using NIRS during a verbal fluency task (VFT) and the IGT. During performance of the IGT, BD patients showed significantly decreased oxy-Hb levels in the bilateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and left prefrontal cortex (PFC) compared with normal control subjects. However, during the VFT, patients with BD showed no significant changes in oxy-Hb levels compared with control subjects. Changes in oxy-Hb levels in the bilateral OFC and the PFC during the IGT were negatively correlated with total scores on the Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAM-D). Although the IGT was useful for differentiating patients with BP from control subjects, no significant differences in autonomic activity were observed.