Effects of music therapy on major depressive disorder: A study of prefrontal hemodynamic functions using fNIRS.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a recurrent, chronic mental illness. While music therapy has been established as an effective treatment for MDD patients, the effects of this therapy on brain function remain unclear. This research employed near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) to explore the effects of music therapy on brain activity in mild or moderate MDD patients and to illustrate the potential mechanism of music therapy. Methods: Fifteen MDD patients and fifteen healthy controls (HC) underwent neuropsychological evaluations and NIRS measurements. All participants were treated with continuous music therapy for 10 days. Subsequently, all individuals were evaluated with neuropsychological assessments and NIRS measurements again. Results: The verbal fluency task (VFT) performances of the participants yielded significantly higher scores after music therapy in terms of vegetables, four-footed animals and fruit blocks. After the music treatment, the NIRS data showed that the mean active oxy-Hb values of channels 21, 23, 19, and 41 were significantly increased in both the MDD and HC groups. The MDD group showed significant activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) after music therapy. The results indicate that music therapy could improve the brain function of MDD patients.

Dissipation Pattern, Processing Factors, and Safety Evaluation for Dimethoate and Its Metabolite (Omethoate) in Tea (Camellia Sinensis).

Residue levels of dimethoate and its oxon metabolite (omethoate) during tea planting, manufacturing, and brewing were investigated using a modified QuEChERS sample preparation and gas chromatography. Dissipation of dimethoate and its metabolite in tea plantation followed the first-order kinetic with a half-life of 1.08-1.27 d. Tea manufacturing has positive effects on dimethoate dissipation. Processing factors of dimethoate are in the range of 2.11-2.41 and 1.41-1.70 during green tea and black tea manufacturing, respectively. Omethoate underwent generation as well as dissipation during tea manufacturing. Sum of dimethoate and omethoate led to a large portion of 80.5-84.9% transferring into tea infusion. Results of safety evaluation indicated that omethoate could bring higher human health risk than dimethoate due to its higher hazard quotient by drinking tea. These results would provide information for the establishment of maximum residue limit and instruction for the application of dimethoate formulation on tea crop.