ABSTRACT

Integrating animals into therapy is applied increasingly in patients in a minimally conscious state (MCS). This pilot study investigates the effect of animal presence on frontal brain activity in MCS patients compared to healthy subjects. O₂HB, HHb and tHb of two MCS patients and two healthy adults was measured in frontal cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy during three sessions with a live animal and three sessions with a mechanical toy animal present. Each session had five phases: (1) baseline, (2) watching animal, (3) passive contact, (4) active contact, (5) neutral. Data were descriptively analysed. All participants showed the largest hemodynamic response during direct contact with the live or toy animal compared to “baseline” and “watching.” During active contact, three of the four participants showed a stronger response when stroking the live compared to the toy animal. All participants showed an inverted signal with higher HHb than O₂Hb concentrations while stroking the live or toy animal. Animal contact leads to a neurovascular reaction in both MCS patients and healthy subjects, indicating elevated neural activity in the frontal cortex. We conclude that while a toy animal can elicit attention processes, active contact to a living animal is combined with emotional processes.

摘要

将动物融入治疗越来越多地应用于处于最低意识状态 (MCS) 的患者中。这项初步研究调查了与健康受试者相比，动物存在对 MCS 患者额叶脑活动的影响。氧₂两个 MCS 患者和两个健康成人的 HB、HHb 和 tHb 在与活体动物的三个会话和与机械玩具动物存在的三个会话期间使用功能近红外光谱在额叶皮层测量。每个会话有五个阶段：（1）基线，（2）观察动物，（3）被动接触，（4）主动接触，（5）中立。对数据进行了描述性分析。与“基线”和“观看”相比，所有参与者在与活体或玩具动物直接接触时表现出最大的血流动力学反应。在主动接触期间，与玩具动物相比，四名参与者中的三名在抚摸活体时表现出更强的反应。所有参与者都显示出 HHb 高于 O _{2的反相信号}抚摸活体或玩具动物时的 Hb 浓度。动物接触导致 MCS 患者和健康受试者的神经血管反应，表明额叶皮层的神经活动升高。我们得出结论，虽然玩具动物可以引起注意过程，但与活体动物的积极接触与情感过程相结合。