Augmentation of cognitive behavioral therapy by visualization of brain function: NIRS-CBT study

2016 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 26461736
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Psychiatric science
• Research Institution: Gunma University
• Principal Investigator: Ono Tatsuro 群馬大学, 大学院医学系研究科, 助教 (40721014)
• Project Period (FY): 2014-04-01 – 2017-03-31
• Keywords: NIRS

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In this study, we investigated the influence of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) to brain function longitudinally using a near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) which can measure brain function easily and noninvasively. We aimed to establish a good biomarker that evaluate the effectiveness of CBT on panic disorder. We treated panic disorder patients with CBT including a total of 10 sessions, and measured NIRS during verbal fluency task and clinical evaluation before and treatment. Eight patients completed the measurement by March 2017. We analyzed oxygenated hemoglobin concentration changes of NIRS data before and after CBT using time-cluster analysis, and we found significant increased activations in the right superior temporal gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus after CBT. We showed that the NIRS can evaluate the effect of CBT on brain function of panic disorder. In the future, we want to promote the therapeutic effect of CBT on panic disorder by feedback of NIRS data.

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