Brain oscillations in bipolar disorder in search of new biomarkers

This report presents six cardinal results obtained with methods of oscillatory brain dynamics in euthymic and manic bipolar patients in comparison to healthy controls. Measurements include changes in oscillatory response activities in the theta, alpha, beta, and gamma frequency ranges. The analysis shows that spontaneous and response activities in the alpha range are highly reduced in euthymic and manic patients, respectively; conversely, beta responses are increased in euthymic and manic patients. Lithium use seems to be associated with further and significant increase in the beta frequency range in euthymic patients. Theta responses to auditory target stimulus during odd-ball paradigm appeared in two different frequency bands (4-6 and 6-8 Hz) in healthy participants. However, only fast theta responses were highly reduced under cognitive load in drug-free euthymic patients. The analysis of connectivity was performed by assessment of long-distance coherence function in the gamma frequency range. Both manic and euthymic patients presented significantly decreased fronto-temporal coherence function during visual odd-ball task, indicating a selective reduction in connectivity during cognitive processing. The present report also discusses that these six oscillatory parameters may serve as an ensemble of biomarkers for diagnostic purposes and tracking treatment response in bipolar disorder.