Structural brain magnetic resonance imaging of limbic and thalamic volumes in pediatric bipolar disorder
Authors
Frazier, Jean A.Chiu, Sufen
Breeze, Janis L.
Makris, Nikos
Lange, Nicholas
Kennedy, David N.
Herbert, Martha R.
Bent, Eileen K.
Koneru, Vamsi K.
Dieterich, Megan E.
Hodge, Steven M.
Rauch, Scott L.
Grant, P. Ellen
Cohen, Bruce M.
Seidman, Larry J.
Caviness, Verne S. Jr.
Biederman, Joseph
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of PsychiatryDocument Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2005-07-05Keywords
AdolescentAge Factors
Ambulatory Care
Atrophy
Bipolar Disorder
Brain Mapping
Child
Female
Hippocampus
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Limbic System
*Magnetic Resonance Imaging
Male
Organ Size
Psychiatric Status Rating Scales
Sex Factors
Telencephalon
Thalamus
Psychiatry
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: Youths with bipolar disorder are ideal for studying illness pathophysiology given their early presentation, lack of extended treatment, and high genetic loading. Adult bipolar disorder MRI studies have focused increasingly on limbic structures and the thalamus because of their role in mood and cognition. On the basis of adult studies, the authors hypothesized a priori that youths with bipolar disorder would have amygdalar, hippocampal, and thalamic volume abnormalities. METHOD: Forty-three youths 6-16 years of age with DSM-IV bipolar disorder (23 male, 20 female) and 20 healthy comparison subjects (12 male, eight female) similar in age and sex underwent structured and clinical interviews, neurological examination, and cognitive testing. Differences in limbic and thalamic brain volumes, on the logarithmic scale, were tested using a two-way (diagnosis and sex) univariate analysis of variance, with total cerebral volume and age controlled. RESULTS: The subjects with bipolar disorder had smaller hippocampal volumes. Further analysis revealed that this effect was driven predominantly by the female bipolar disorder subjects. In addition, both male and female youths with bipolar disorder had significantly smaller cerebral volumes. No significant hemispheric effects were seen. CONCLUSIONS: These findings support the hypothesis that the limbic system, in particular the hippocampus, may be involved in the pathophysiology of pediatric bipolar disorder. While this report may represent the largest MRI study of pediatric bipolar disorder to date, more work is needed to confirm these findings and to determine if they are unique to pediatric bipolar disorder.Source
Am J Psychiatry. 2005 Jul;162(7):1256-65. Link to article on publisher's siteDOI
10.1176/appi.ajp.162.7.1256Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/45867PubMed ID
15994707Related Resources
Link to Article in PubMedae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1176/appi.ajp.162.7.1256