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Acute mania is accompanied by elevated glutamate/glutamine levels within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Nikolaus Michael1, Andreas Erfurth, Patricia Ohrmann
1University of Muenster, 48129 Münster, Germany. nikmich@uni-muenster.de
Rationale:
The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) participates in the pathophysiology of mania. In particular, left-sided structural and metabolic abnormalities have been described.
Objectives:
Clinical symptoms may be due to hyperactivity of cortical glutamatergic neurons, resulting in increased excitatory neurotransmitter flux and thus enhanced Glx levels.
Methods:
Glutamate/glutamine (Glx) levels were assessed by proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H-MRS) in eight acute manic patients compared with age- and gender-matched controls.
Results:
Manic patients had significantly elevated Glx levels ( t-test; t=-3.1, P=0.008) within the left DLPFC.
Conclusions:
Our results indicate that the prefrontal cortical glutamatergic system is involved in the pathophysiology of acute mania. This may have implications for the treatment of mania.