Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
task, no signi
!
cant difference was observed between patients with depression and
healthy individuals in terms of prefrontal cortex activation associated with task
activation during task performance, they have not yet yielded consistent
!
findings.
Investigations of brain activation at rest and during performance of existing
prefrontal function tests alone is insuf
!
cient for conducting more detailed exam-
inations of the pathology of depression. Rather, brain activity must be examined
using novel emotional and cognitive tasks directly associated with the psycholog-
ical and behavioral clinical symptoms of depression (Note, we will introduce fMRI
studies focused on cognitive impairment in patients with depression in Sect.
2
). It is
also essential to use a psychophysiological approach to determine the relationship
between respective characteristic clinical symptoms and brain function, as it is
necessary to conduct examinations
!
firmly connected to the patient's introspective
report and observed behavior. Researchers must also further utilize previous
!
nd-
ings made using psychiatric and clinical psychology approaches.
As progress is made in research on the pathology of mental disorders presenting
with emotional distortion, the psychophysiological approach is expected to play a
major role in clinical application by improving diagnostic and therapeutic tech-
niques. In other words, the psychophysiological approach can also contribute to
investigations of the mechanisms of emotion and the development of methods for
regulating emotion. Although various diagnostic techniques and clinical tests are
performed for mental disorders, an objective clinical marker capable of accurately
diagnosing such disorders has not yet been found. Clinical research has used
physiological indicators such as EEG and ERP to study mental disorders such as
anxiety disorders, mood disorders, and schizophrenia. However, this research has
not yet led to the discovery of speci
!
c changes in physiological responses in mental
disorders. By combining emotional and cognitive tasks directly associated with the
psychological and behavioral clinical symptoms of each respective disorder with
fMRI or other functional neuroimaging methods capable of high-precision brain
function analysis, the psychophysiological approach is predicted to be useful as a
method of differential diagnosis of mental disorders.
In addition, an integrated psychophysiological might provide methods of
objective assessment of the therapeutic effects of drug therapy, cognitive behavioral
therapy, and other forms of psychotherapy. For example, assessing improvements
in clinical symptoms and psychosocial functioning (i.e., cognitive and behavioral
transformations) not only with subjective measures and behavioral measures, but
also using physiological measures of brain activity would enable more objective
examination of therapeutic effects. Furthermore, a detailed examination of how
changes in psychobehavioral symptoms relate with changes in brain activation in
the course of treatment will help elucidate therapeutic mechanisms from the per-
spective of the underlying neural pathology. It is proposed that this will, in turn,
lead to improvements in techniques for regulating emotion and cognition.
