Search

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met polymorphism has been implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. We investigated the neurochemistry of the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of bipolar disorder and healthy participants in relation to the brain-derived neurotrophic factor val66met polymorphism using H-magnetic resonance spectroscopy. Absolute N-acetyl-aspartate, phosphocreatine+creatine (PCr+Cr), choline-containing compounds, myo-inositol, and glutamate levels were measured. Bipolar disorder met-carriers had lower PCr+Cr levels than bipolar disorder val/val patients, and bipolar disorder val/val patients had higher PCr+Cr levels than val/val healthy controls. These results indicate that bipolar disorder met-carriers have abnormal energy metabolism in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.

The width of cortical sulci in bipolar patients (n=19) and healthy controls (n=35) was examined using a novel automated technique involving magnetic resonance imaging. All sulci were wider for bipolar patients than for healthy controls. Bipolar-control differences were largest for the superior and intermediate frontal sulci, smallest for the occipital and cingulate sulci, and intermediate in magnitude for the other sulci (intraparietal, inferior frontal, and central sulci). The results were interpreted in terms of neurodegenerative-illness-related processes, which could produce cortical atrophy and result in wider sulci.

The objective of this study was to investigate anatomical brain abnormalities in adult bipolar patients using a deformation field morphometry technique. Our sample consisted of 32 right-handed bipolar I patients (men/women=16/16) and 32 right-handed, age and gender matched healthy controls. Deformation field morphometry analysis was performed on three-dimensional spoiled gradient recalled acquisition images. We found gender-specific structural differences between bipolar patients and healthy individuals. Bipolar men had significantly larger lateral ventricles (especially pronounced in the left hemisphere) and smaller left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex than healthy male controls. Our results are complementary to the findings of functional imaging and post-mortem studies that demonstrate abnormalities in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in bipolar patients.