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White matter integrity in kleptomania: a pilot study.
Jon E Grant1, Stephen Correia, Thea Brennan-Krohn
1Butler Hospital/Brown Medical School, Providence, RI 02906, USA.
Psychiatry Research
|September 8, 2006
Summary
Kleptomania may be linked to reduced white matter integrity in the frontal lobe. This study found lower fractional anisotropy (FA) and higher trace in the frontal white matter of women with kleptomania compared to controls.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Neuropsychiatry
- White Matter Integrity
Background:
- Kleptomania is a disorder characterized by recurrent failure to resist impulses to steal items.
- The neurobiological underpinnings of kleptomania, particularly white matter alterations, remain underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the microstructural organization of frontal white matter in females diagnosed with kleptomania.
- To compare diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) metrics between individuals with kleptomania and healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) was performed on 10 females with DSM-IV kleptomania and 10 female controls.
- Fractional anisotropy (FA) and trace were calculated for frontal and posterior white matter regions of interest.
Main Results:
- Subjects with kleptomania exhibited significantly higher mean frontal white matter trace compared to controls.
- Individuals with kleptomania showed significantly lower mean frontal white matter fractional anisotropy (FA) than controls.
- No significant differences in trace or FA were observed in posterior cortical regions between groups.
Conclusions:
- Findings suggest that kleptomania may be associated with compromised white matter microstructural integrity in inferior frontal brain regions.
- Altered frontal white matter organization could play a role in the pathophysiology of kleptomania.
