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Measurement of Fronto-limbic Activity Using an Emotional Oddball Task in Children with Familial High Risk for Schizophrenia

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Relation between amygdala structure and function in adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Jessica H Kalmar¹, Fei Wang¹, Lara G Chepenik¹

¹Drs. Kalmar, Wang, Chepenik, Womer, Blumberg, and Shah are with the Yale School of Medicine and the Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System; Drs. Martin and Constable, and Ms. Jones and Mr. Pittman are with the Yale School of Medicine.

Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry

|May 21, 2009

Summary

Adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) have smaller amygdala volumes and heightened responses to emotional stimuli. This study found an inverse relationship between amygdala size and its activity in youth with BD.

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Psychiatry
Developmental Psychology

Background:

Adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) exhibit altered amygdala function and structure.
Previous research suggests reduced amygdala volume and elevated emotional reactivity in this population.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate the relationship between amygdala volume and its functional response to emotional stimuli in adolescents with BD.
To examine structure-function correlations within the amygdala in adolescent BD.

Main Methods:

Structural and functional MRI scans were acquired from 51 adolescents (21 with BD, 30 controls, ages 10-18).
Amygdala volume and signal change during emotional face processing were compared between groups.
Structure-function correlations were analyzed in the BD group.

Main Results:

Adolescents with BD demonstrated significantly decreased amygdala volume and increased amygdala response to emotional faces.
A significant inverse association was found between amygdala volume and its activation during emotional face processing (r = -0.54, p =.029).

Conclusions:

The findings confirm reduced amygdala volume and heightened emotional response in adolescent BD.
This study is the first to report an inverse structure-function relationship in the amygdala within the same adolescent BD sample.
This suggests a potential pathophysiological link between amygdala structural abnormalities and emotional processing deficits in BD.