Significance Sickle cell disease (SCD), characterized by painful vaso-occlusive crises, is associated with cognitive decline. However, objective quantification of cognitive decline in SCD remains a challenge, and the associated hemodynamics are unknown. Aim To address this, we utilized functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure prefrontal cortex (PFC) oxygenation responses to N-back working memory tasks in SCD patients and compared them with healthy controls. Approach We quantified the PFC oxygenation rate as an index of cognitive activity in each group and compared them. In half of the participants, a Stroop test was administered before they started N-back to elevate their baseline stress level. Results In SCD compared to healthy controls, we found that (1) under a high baseline stress level, there were significantly greater oxygenation responses during the 2-back task, further elevated with histories of stroke; (2) there was a marginally slower N-back response time, and it was even slower with a history of stroke; and (3) the task accuracy was not different. Conclusions Additional requirements for processing time, PFC resources, and PFC oxygenation in SCD patients offer an important basis for understanding their cognitive decline and highlight the potential of fNIRS for evaluating cognitive functions.

中文翻译：

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镰状细胞病工作记忆任务期间基于功能性近红外光谱的前额皮质氧合。

意义 镰状细胞病（SCD）以痛苦的血管闭塞危象为特征，与认知能力下降有关。然而，对 SCD 认知能力下降的客观量化仍然是一个挑战，并且相关的血流动力学尚不清楚。目的 为了解决这个问题，我们利用功能性近红外光谱 (fNIRS) 来测量 SCD 患者的前额皮质 (PFC) 对 N-back 工作记忆任务的氧合反应，并将其与健康对照进行比较。方法 我们将 PFC 氧合率量化为每组认知活动的指标，并进行比较。一半的参与者在开始 N-back 之前进行了 Stroop 测试，以提高他们的基线压力水平。结果在 SCD 中，与健康对照组相比，我们发现（1）在高基线压力水平下，2-back 任务期间的氧合反应显着增强，并且随着中风病史进一步升高；(2) N-back反应时间稍慢，有中风病史的情况更慢；(3) 任务准确性没有差异。结论 SCD 患者对处理时间、PFC 资源和 PFC 氧合的额外要求为了解其认知能力下降提供了重要基础，并凸显了 fNIRS 评估认知功能的潜力。