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Differences in resting corticolimbic functional connectivity in bipolar I euthymia
Salvatore Torrisi1, Teena D Moody, Nathalie Vizueta
1Department of Psychiatry, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of California at Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA. storrisi@ucla.edu
Insights
Bipolar I disorder patients show increased brain connectivity between the right amygdala and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC), partially mediated by the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). This suggests a potential imaging biomarker for the condition.
Area of Science:
- Neuroimaging
- Psychiatry
- Functional Connectivity
Background:
- Bipolar I disorder is characterized by mood dysregulation.
- Emotion regulation involves interplay between amygdala and prefrontal cortex.
- Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) offers insights into brain network function.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in rsFC between emotion regulation regions in bipolar I disorder.
- To compare brain connectivity in euthymic bipolar I disorder patients versus healthy controls.
Main Methods:
- Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- Functional connectivity was analyzed between the amygdala and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC).
- Mediation analysis explored the role of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
Main Results:
- Bipolar I disorder patients exhibited hyperconnectivity between the right amygdala and right vlPFC.
- This hyperconnectivity was partially mediated by the ACC.
- Findings were observed in euthymic patients without a task.
Conclusions:
- Increased amygdala-vlPFC coupling, mediated by the ACC, is present in bipolar I disorder.
- These connectivity patterns may represent a trait marker.
- This research has implications for developing imaging biomarkers for bipolar disorder.
Objective:
We examined resting state functional connectivity in the brain between key emotion regulation regions in bipolar I disorder to delineate differences in coupling from healthy subjects.
Methods:
Euthymic subjects with bipolar I disorder (n = 20) and matched healthy subjects (n = 20) participated in a resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging scan. Low-frequency fluctuations in blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) signal were correlated in the six connections between four anatomically defined nodes: left and right amygdala and left and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC). Seed-to-voxel connectivity results were probed for commonly coupled regions. Following this, an identified region was included in a mediation analysis to determine the potential of mediation.
Results:
The bipolar I disorder group exhibited significant hyperconnectivity between right amygdala and right vlPFC relative to healthy subjects. The connectivity between these regions in the bipolar I disorder group was partially mediated by activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC).
Conclusions:
Greater coupling between right amygdala and right vlPFC and their partial mediation by the ACC were found in bipolar I disorder subjects in remission and in the absence of a psychological task. These findings have implications for a trait-related and clinically important imaging biomarker.
