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Preliminary study of neurocognitive differences in attention and fluency in Schizophrenia using fNIRS

Schizophrenia is a severe psychiatric disorder that affects individuals across the course of their lifetime. Neurocognitive deficits are a typical characteristic of this disorder and are prominent in many cognitive domains including attention and fluency. Despite the recognized importance, patient cognition is rarely monitored as a regular part of treatment and even then, only with behavioral metrics. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a non-invasive technique which measures cortical hemodynamic responses using near-infrared light with safe, portable, and cost-effective sensors. The measurement of fNIRS during cognitive processing tasks could offer objective insights into the dysfunction and cognitive inefficiency inherent in Schizophrenia. In this preliminary study, we examined cognition in patients with Schizophrenia and Controls under three different cognitive tasks (Continuous Performance Test, Verbal Fluency Test, Psychomotor Vigilance Test) to evaluate differences in behavioral and candidate biomarkers in the disorder. Our results support findings of left-hemispheric lateralization during language tasks, right-hemispheric lateralization during attention tasks, and imply task-related abnormal activation patterns in schizophrenia patients.