A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Examination of the Neural Correlates of Mental Rotation for Individuals With Different Depressive Tendencies

The present study aimed to examine the neural mechanisms underlying the ability to process the mental rotation with mirrored stimuli for different depressive tendencies with psychomotor retardation. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we measured brain cortex activation of participants with higher and lower depressive tendencies while performing a left-right paradigm of object mental rotation or a same-different paradigm of subject mental rotation. Behavioral data revealed no differences in reaction time and rotation speed. The fNIRS data revealed a higher deactivation of oxyhemoglobin (HbO) change for the higher depression group in the perceptual stage of object mental rotation with mirrored stimuli in the superior external frontal cortex (BA46), inferior frontal gyrus (BA45), premotor cortex (BA6), and primary motor cortex (BA4) (study 1). In addition, there existed a significant difference between the two groups in premotor cortex (BA6) in subject mental rotation with mirrored stimuli (study 2). These results suggest that the neural mechanism of higher depression individuals connected with psychomotor retardation exists in the frontal and motor areas when processing object mental rotation with mirrored stimuli, and the motor cortex when processing subject mental rotation.