Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 18, 2026

Developing a Rat Model for Bipolar Disorder
Published on: May 2, 2025
Cortical neurochemistry in euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder
Harald Scherk1, Martin Backens, Thomas Schneider-Axmann
1Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Georg-August-University Goettingen, 37075 Goettingen, Germany. hscherk@uni-goettingen.de
Objective:
Prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortical regions are assumed to be involved in the pathophysiology of mood regulation. Reduced prefrontal and anterior cingulate function indicated by decreased N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) levels in patients with bipolar disorder has been reported inconsistently. A positive correlation between lithium serum level and NAA concentrations has been found previously. The aim of this study was to re-investigate prefrontal and anterior cingulate neurochemistry in a sample of euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder.
Methods:
NAA, choline (Cho), creatine (Cr) and myo-inositol (Ins) in left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and left anterior cingulate cortex were measured in 33 euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder and 29 healthy comparison subjects by using proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ([(1)H]MRS).
Results:
Metabolic ratios did not differ between patients with bipolar I disorder and comparison subjects in prefrontal and anterior cingulate cortex neither in the total sample nor in the pairwise matched sub-sample. We could not observe an association between lithium level and NAA ratios. Lithium treated patients demonstrated unchanged NAA or myo-inositol ratios compared to alternatively treated patients.
Conclusion:
In contrast to prior findings, we could not observe any metabolic alterations in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.
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