Near‐Infrared Spectroscopy Detects Prefrontal Activities During Rorschach Inkblot Method

Abstract

The present research investigated activities in the prefrontal cortex while performing the Rorschach inkblot method (RIM) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Participants who had no history of mental illness or external head injury were presented with three International RIM Cards (I, IV, V) for 30 s each and asked to identify what they looked like. In addition, a picture task was conducted, in which simple pictures were used as visual stimuli and participants were asked to say what they were. Results showed significant increase of oxyhemoglobin over time with nearly all measurement channels on the RIM task. The volume changes in oxyhemoglobin during both the middle and late segments of the RIM task were more significant than those of the picture task in almost all channels with the exception of no significant difference in the middle with a few right lateral channels. With regard to deoxyhemoglobin, on the RIM task, a significant decrease was observed with nearly all channels, but only in some of the task segments. These results are then discussed in regards to the function of the prefrontal cortex.Key words: Rorschach inkblot method, prefrontal cortex, functional near-infrared spectroscopy, projective method, functional imaging technique for brain activity.

Ideational Slippage in Middle-Aged and Older Adults: A Preliminary Study

“…For example, greater electroencephalogram activations in frontal parietal cortices were observed as participants considered the meaning of a monochromatic inkblot as compared to a polygon shape; it is noteworthy that somatosensory cortical activation was also observed for both stimulus conditions [ 43 ]. In functional near-infrared spectroscopy studies, functional modulation near the parietal lobe [ 44 ] and bilateral activity in the rostral frontal cortex [ 45 ] were reported among college-aged adults observing inkblots. Therefore, it is plausible that perceptual and fluid cognitive functions of the splenium support the creation and communication of RIM responses as indexed by Sum6 and WSum6 .…”

The Application of the Rorschach Inkblot Test in the Study of Neural and Cognitive Aging

“…Among healthy, young adults, greater EEG activations in frontal and parietal cortices were observed as participants considered the meaning of a monochromatic inkblot compared with a polygon shape; it is noteworthy that somatosensory cortical activation was also observed for both stimulus conditions (Luciani et al, 2014). Functional modulation (decrease in deoxygenation indexed by fNIRS) near the parietal lobe was reported in college-aged adults observing inkblots for 30 s versus neutral pictures (Aizawa et al, 2018). Another fNIRS study of adolescents found bilateral activity in the rostral frontal cortex during inkblot observation (Hiraishi et al, 2012), but the study was specifically designed to make comparisons with other picture-based personality assessments and did not report response variables.…”

Editorial: fNIRS in Psychological Research: Functional Neuroimaging Beyond Conventional Fields

“…Next, this special issue continues with nine original research articles and brief reports providing novel approaches in various fields of psychology. In the brief report by Aizawa et al (), the authors shed new light on the conventional clinical psychological test called the Rorschach inkblot method (RIM), and explore its neural basis in the function of the prefrontal cortex. They found task‐segment‐specific differential activation patterns in the prefrontal cortex during actual execution of RIM assessment using the International RIM Cards.…”