Title: Gender Effects On Prefrontal Cortex Oxygenation Levels During Auditory Oddball Task In Children

Abstract: In this study, our aim was to investigate gender effects on prefrontal cortex oxygenation. Auditory oddball paradigm used as cognitive task. Prefrontal cortex oxygenation is assessed by monitoring changes in blood oxygenation using functional nearinfrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The fNIRS were recorded during the 'oddball' paradigm in which two stimuli (target and standard) were presented in random order. Subjects were asked to press a button in response to the target stimulus. 12 male healthy children and 9 female healthy children were included the study. As a result; it is observed that the males exhibited higher prefrontal activation during auditory oddball task than females. This results suggest that gender had an effect on prefrontal cortex oxygenation therefore gender matching is important for studies of brain function using fNIRS.

Keywords: uditory oddball paradigm; gender difference; functional near infrared spectroscopy

Başlık: Çocuklarda İşitsel Oddball Paradigması Esnasında Prefrontal Korteks Oksijenlenmesinde Cinsiyetin Etkileri

Özet: Bu çalışmada, prefrontal korteks oksijenlenmesinde cinsiyet etkileri araştırılmıştır. Bilişsel test olarak işitsel oddball paradigması uygulanmıştır. Prefrontal korteks oksijenlenmesi fonksiyonel yakın kızılötesi sprektroskopisi (fNIRS) kullanılarak kandaki oksijenlenmenin değişimine göre belirlenmiştir. fNIRS kayıtları iki uyaranın rastgele kullanıldığı (hedef ve standart) oddball paradigması ile alınmıştır. Deneklerden hedef sesleri duyduklarında butona basmaları istenmiştir. 12 sağlıklı erkek çocuk ve 9 sağlıklı kız çocuk çalışmaya dahil edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak; erkek katılımcıların işitsel oddball testi sırasında kız katılımcılardan daha fazla prefrontal aktivasyon gösterdiği gözlenmiştir. Bu sonuçlar cinsiyetin prefrontal kortex oksijenlenmesinde etkili olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu durum fNIRS kullanarak yapılan beyin fonksiyonu çalışmalarında cinsiyet eşleştirmenin önemli olduğunu göstermektedir.

Anahtar kelimeler: İşitsel oddball paradigması; cinsiyet etkisi; fonksiyonel yakın kızılötesi spektroskopisi

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