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Changes in gray matter volume in patients with bipolar disorder
Caleb M Adler1, Ari D Levine, Melissa P DelBello
1Center for Bipolar Disorders Research, University of Cincinnati College of Medicine, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA. cal.adler@psychiatry.uc.edu
Biological Psychiatry
|June 1, 2005
Summary
Bipolar disorder patients exhibit altered brain structure, with increased gray matter in areas like the anterior cingulate and ventral prefrontal cortex, and decreased volume in the superior parietal lobule.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Brain Anatomy
Background:
- Bipolar disorder is associated with neurofunctional abnormalities.
- Structural brain pathology may underlie these functional deficits.
- Previous region of interest (ROI) studies yielded inconsistent findings due to ROI definition variability.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare gray matter volume between bipolar disorder patients and healthy subjects.
- To utilize voxel-based morphometry (VBM) for an exploratory analysis of brain structure.
Main Methods:
- Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was performed on 32 bipolar disorder patients and 27 healthy subjects.
- MRI images underwent segmentation and normalization to standard stereotactic space.
- Voxel-by-voxel comparison using statistical parametric mapping was employed.
Main Results:
- Bipolar subjects displayed increased gray matter in the anterior cingulate, ventral prefrontal cortex, fusiform gyrus, and motor cortex.
- A decrease in gray matter volume was observed in the superior parietal lobule of bipolar subjects.
Conclusions:
- Findings support a link between neurofunctional deficits and structural brain abnormalities in bipolar disorder.
- Observed gray matter increases suggest potential volumetric expansion in specific brain regions for some patient populations.