Genetic variation in the G72 (DAOA) gene affects temporal lobe and amygdala structure in subjects affected by bipolar disorder.

Background: Variation in the G72 (DAOA) gene is understood to convey susceptibility for bipolar disorder through an uncertain mechanism. Little is known about the structural brain phenotypes associated with this gene. We hypothesised that reductions in temporal lobe and amygdala gray matter would be associated with variation at two loci in the gene for which evidence of genetic linkage has been repeatedly demonstrated.

Structural abnormalities of ventrolateral and orbitofrontal cortex in patients with familial bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Abnormalities of ventral prefrontal function have been widely reported in bipolar disorder, but reports of structural abnormalities in the same region are less consistent. We examined the presence and location of ventral prefrontal abnormalities in a large sample of individuals with bipolar disorder and their relationship to gender, psychotic symptoms, and age.

Methods: Structural magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were carried out on 66 individuals with bipolar disorder, type I, and 66 controls.

Changes in gyrification over 4 years in bipolar disorder and their association with the brain-derived neurotrophic factor valine(66) methionine variant.

Background: Evidence suggests that structural brain changes occur over time in bipolar disorder but few studies have examined this longitudinally. Additional work implicates brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) valine (val)(66)methionine (met) variant in these changes. The present study examined longitudinal trends in prefrontal gyrification index (GI) in bipolar disorder and the effect of BDNF genotype.

Genetic risk for white matter abnormalities in bipolar disorder.

White matter deficits have been demonstrated in people with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia and their unaffected relatives. These deficits are supported by evidence from post-mortem studies, including microarray investigations which have repeatedly implicated abnormal myelin-associated gene expression. Furthermore, several risk-associated genes have now been identified that encode for proteins which have effects on white matter integrity.

White matter tractography in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Background: Abnormalities of white matter integrity have been repeatedly demonstrated in both schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with voxel based methods. Because these methods are limited in their ability to localize deficits to specific tracts, we sought to investigate alterations in fractional anisotropy (FA) in the uncinate fasciculus and anterior thalamic radiation with probabilistic tractography.

Methods: Individuals with schizophrenia (n = 25) or bipolar disorder (n = 40) were recruited from families with two or more affected members and age-matched to a control group (n = 49).

Low birthweight and preterm birth in young people with special educational needs: a magnetic resonance imaging analysis.

Background: Although neuroanatomical and cognitive sequelae of low birthweight and preterm birth have been investigated, little is understood as to the likely prevalence of a history of low birthweight or preterm birth, or neuroanatomical correlates of such a history, within the special educational needs population. Our aim was to address these issues in a sample of young people receiving additional learning support.

Methods: One hundred and thirty-seven participants aged 13-22 years, receiving additional learning support, were recruited via their schools or colleges and underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).

Prefrontal function and activation in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Objective: Distinctive patterns of speech and language abnormalities are associated with bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It is, however, unclear whether the associated patterns of neural activation are diagnosis specific. The authors sought to determine whether there are differences in language-associated prefrontal activation that discriminate bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Progressive gray matter loss in patients with bipolar disorder.

Background: Structural brain abnormalities of the medial temporal lobe have been found in people with bipolar disorder (BPD). It is not known whether these abnormalities progress over the course of the illness or how they relate to neuropsychologic functioning. We sought to address these uncertainties in a prospective cohort study of people with bipolar I disorder.