Functional near-infrared spectroscopy detects increased activation of the brain frontal-parietal network in youth with type 1 diabetes

When considered as a group, children with type 1 diabetes have subtle cognitive deficits relative to neurotypical controls. However, the neural correlates of these differences remain poorly understood. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), we investigated the brain functional activations of young adolescents (19 individuals with type 1 diabetes, 18 healthy controls, ages 8-16 years) during a Go/No-Go response inhibition task. Both cohorts had the same performance on the task, but the individuals with type 1 diabetes subjects had higher activations in a frontal-parietal network including the bilateral supramarginal gyri and bilateral rostrolateral prefrontal cortices. The activations in these regions were positively correlated with fewer parent-reported conduct problems (ie, lower Conduct Problem scores) on the Behavioral Assessment System for Children, Second Edition. Lower Conduct Problem scores are characteristic of less rule-breaking behavior suggesting a link between this brain network and better self-control. These findings are consistent with a large functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study of children with type 1 diabetes using completely different participants. Perhaps surprisingly, the between-group activation results from fNIRS were statistically stronger than the results using fMRI. This pilot study is the first fNIRS investigation of executive function for individuals with type 1 diabetes. The results suggest that fNIRS is a promising functional neuroimaging resource for detecting the brain correlates of behavior in the pediatric clinic.