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Effects of sedative and nonsedative antihistamines on prefrontal activity during verbal fluency task in young children: a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study

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Abstract

Introduction

Antagonists of histamine H1 receptors (antihistamines) are widely used for the treatment of allergic disorders in children. These drugs' sedative effect on brain function, however, has been mostly examined in adults.

Objective

The objective of this study was to examine the effects of anitihistamines on prefrontal cortex activity in young children using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS), a novel brain-imaging method.

Materials and methods

In 15 healthy children (mean age, 7.7 years), we examined changes of oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in the prefrontal cortex while they performed a verbal fluency task 3 h after taking a sedating antihistamine (ketotifen), nonsedating antihistamine (epinastine), or placebo.

Results

Ketotifen significantly impaired behavioral performance and cortical activation at the lateral prefrontal cortex compared with placebo. There were no sedative effects on neural response or behavioral performance after epinastine administration.

Conclusions

NIRS revealed that sedating and nonsedating antihistamines exert differential effects on brain hemodynamic response in young children.

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Acknowledgments

Our thanks go to the 15 young children who participated in the study, as well as to their parents. We also thank Masahito Kobayashi, MD (Department of Neurosurgery, Keio University), Kenjiro Kosaki, MD (Department of Pediatrics, Keio University), and Shozo Kojima, PhD (Department of Psychology, Keio University) for valuable contributions toward the design and execution of this study. Funding for the study was provided by the Japanese Public Health Research Foundation (JPHRF). The study was conducted at Center for Advanced Research on Logic and Sensibility (CARLS) at Keio University and was supported by grants of the Global COE program from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology of Japan, as well as by Boehringer Ingelheim, which also provided test agents (ketotifen, epinastine, and identical placebos).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Center for Advanced Research on Logic and Sensibility (CARLS), Keio University, Mita 3-1-7, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 108-0073, Japan

    Takeo Tsujii, Sayako Masuda & Eriko Yamamoto

  2. Department of Neurosurgery, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takayuki Ohira & Takekazu Akiyama

  3. Department of Pediatrics, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    Takao Takahashi

  4. Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan

    Shigeru Watanabe

Authors
  1. Takeo Tsujii
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  2. Sayako Masuda
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  3. Eriko Yamamoto
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  4. Takayuki Ohira
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  5. Takekazu Akiyama
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  6. Takao Takahashi
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  7. Shigeru Watanabe
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Correspondence to Takeo Tsujii.

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Tsujii, T., Masuda, S., Yamamoto, E. et al. Effects of sedative and nonsedative antihistamines on prefrontal activity during verbal fluency task in young children: a near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) study. Psychopharmacology 207, 127–132 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1640-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00213-009-1640-2

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