Cingulate abnormalities in bipolar disorder relate to gender and outcome: a region-based morphometry study...

Area of Science:

• Neuroimaging
• Psychiatry
• Neuroscience

Background:

• Bipolar disorder (BD) is linked to gray matter (GM) deficits in cingulate cortices, crucial for emotional and cognitive regulation.
• Previous studies indicate GM loss in BD, but the impact of gender and clinical factors requires further investigation.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate cingulate GM volumes in a large cohort of BD patients compared to healthy controls.
• To explore the influence of gender and clinical variables on cingulate GM volumes in BD.

Main Methods:

• Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) was used to assess GM volumes in the anterior and posterior cingulate cortex.
• 39 BD patients and 39 matched healthy controls underwent 1.5T MRI scans.
• Manual detection of GM volumes within the cingulate cortex regions.

Main Results:

• BD patients exhibited decreased left anterior cingulate (ACC) volumes compared to controls.
• A significant gender effect was found, with male BD patients showing reduced left ACC volumes.
• Inverse correlation between right ACC volumes and hospitalizations in all BD patients and male BD patients.

Conclusions:

• Findings support the role of the ACC in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.
• Evidence suggests gender-specific reductions in ACC GM volume in BD patients.
• Reduced ACC volume may be associated with poorer clinical outcomes in BD, particularly in males.