Gray matter abnormalities as brain structural vulnerability factors for bipolar disorder: A review of neuroimaging studies of individuals at high genetic risk for bipolar disorder.

Objective: Cortical and subcortical gray matter abnormalities have been reported in individuals at high genetic risk for bipolar disorder, but the findings are inconsistent. The aim of this study was to review the available literature to identify common findings that could represent brain structural vulnerability factors for bipolar disorder and to discuss challenges for the advancement of the field.

Method: A systematic search was conducted using the PubMed database to identify all original articles investigating cortical or subcortical gray matter abnormalities in first-degree relatives of bipolar disorder patients.

Major depressive disorder severity and the frequency of painful physical symptoms: a pooled analysis of observational studies.

Objective: This retrospective post-hoc analysis of observational studies assesses the frequency of painful physical symptoms (PPS) in patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) of varied severity as may be seen in clinical practice.

Methods: Observational studies of MDD that collected a clinician-reported measure of depression severity and included assessment of PPS were screened for this individual patient-level analysis. Six observational studies were included that enrolled outpatients with a diagnosis of MDD (assessed using the 17-item Hamilton depression scale, Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale-Depression, or Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology).

Trait impulsivity is increased in bipolar disorder patients with comorbid alcohol use disorders.

Background: Up to 60% of bipolar disorder (BD) patients develop alcohol use disorders (AUD) at some point in their lives. The causes of this highly prevalent comorbidity are unknown. High trait impulsivity characterizes both isolated BD and AUD and may be a link to explain the association between BD and AUD.

Association between prior alcohol use disorders and decreased prefrontal gray matter volumes in bipolar I disorder patients.

Up to 50% of bipolar disorder (BD) patients present a lifetime diagnosis of alcohol use disorders (AUD). BD patients with comorbid AUD, even when in remission from the AUD, have a poorer outcome and functional impairment than patients with BD alone. The neurobiological abnormalities that potentially characterize this severe subgroup of BD patients are unknown.

Abnormal resting state corticolimbic blood flow in depressed unmedicated patients with major depression: a (15)O-H(2)O PET study.

We investigated the differences in the resting state corticolimbic blood flow between 20 unmedicated depressed patients and 21 healthy comparisons. Resting state cerebral blood flow (CBF) was measured with H(2)(15)O PET. Anatomical MRI scans were performed on an Elscint 1.

History of suffocation, state-trait anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity in predicting 35% carbon dioxide-induced panic.

The aim of this study was to examine the effects of history of suffocation, state-trait anxiety, and anxiety sensitivity on response to a 35% carbon dioxide (CO₂) challenge in panic disorder patients, their healthy first-degree relatives and healthy comparisons. Thirty-two patients with panic disorder, 32 first-degree relatives, and 34 healthy volunteers underwent the 35% CO₂ challenge. We assessed baseline anxiety with the Anxiety Sensitivity Index (ASI) and State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI1), and panic symptoms with the Panic Symptom List (PSL III-R).

Bipolar disorder and comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with higher rates of anxiety and impulse control disorders.

Unlabelled: Issler CK, Monkul ES, Amaral JAMS, Tamada RS, Shavitt RG, Miguel EC, Lafer B. Bipolar disorder and comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder is associated with higher rates of anxiety and impulse control disorders.

Objective: Although bipolar disorder (BD) with comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is highly prevalent, few controlled studies have assessed this comorbidity.

Fronto-temporal dysregulation in asymptomatic bipolar I patients: a paired associate functional MRI study.

Bipolar disorder is associated with persistent declarative memory disturbances, but the neural basis of these deficits is not well understood. We used fMRI to investigate brain activity during performance on a face-name paired associate task, which allows for the dissociation of encoding and recall-related memory processes. Fifteen clinically remitted bipolar I disorder patients and 24 demographically matched healthy comparison subjects were scanned during task performance.

Normal metabolite levels in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of unmedicated major depressive disorder patients: a single voxel (1)H spectroscopy study.

Few proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H spectroscopy) studies have investigated the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a key region in the pathophysiology of major depressive disorder (MDD). We used (1)H spectroscopy to verify whether MDD patients differ from healthy controls (HC) in metabolite levels in this brain area. Thirty-seven unmedicated DSM-IV MDD patients were compared with 40 HC.

Bipolar disorder comorbid with alcoholism: a 1H magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

Alcoholism is highly prevalent among bipolar disorder (BD) patients, and its presence is associated with a worse outcome and refractoriness to treatment of the mood disorder. The neurobiological underpinnings that characterize this comorbidity are unknown. We sought to investigate the neurochemical profile of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) of BD patients with comorbid alcoholism.

Anterior cingulate volumes associated with trait impulsivity in individuals with bipolar disorder.

Objective: Impulsivity is associated with the clinical outcome and likelihood of risky behaviors among bipolar disorder (BD) patients. Our previous study showed an inverse relationship between impulsivity and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) volume in healthy subjects. We hypothesized that BD patients would show an inverse relationship between impulsivity and volumes of the OFC, anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), medial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala, which have been implicated in the pathophysiology of BD.

Amygdala hyperactivation in untreated depressed individuals.

The amygdala participates in the detection and control of affective states, and has been proposed to be a site of dysfunction in affective disorders. To assess amygdala processing in individuals with unipolar depression, we applied a functional MRI (fMRI) paradigm previously shown to be sensitive to amygdala function. Fourteen individuals with untreated DSM-IV major depression and 15 healthy subjects were studied using fMRI with a standardized emotion face recognition task.

An MRI-based approach for the measurement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in humans.

The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has been implicated in the pathophysiology of mental disorders. Previous region-of-interest MRI studies that attempted to delineate this region adopted various landmarks and measurement techniques, with inconsistent results. We developed a new region-of-interest measurement method to obtain morphometric data of this region from structural MRI scans, taking into account knowledge from cytoarchitectonic postmortem studies and the large inter-individual variability of this region.

Fronto-temporal dysregulation in remitted bipolar patients: an fMRI delayed-non-match-to-sample (DNMS) study.

Objectives: Bipolar disorder is associated with working memory (WM) impairments that persist during periods of symptomatic remission. However, the neural underpinnings of these deficits are not well understood.

Methods: Fifteen clinically remitted bipolar patients and 15 demographically matched healthy controls underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing a novel delayed-non-match-to-sample (DNMS) task.

Neuronal correlates of brain-derived neurotrophic factor Val66Met polymorphism and morphometric abnormalities in bipolar disorder.

The brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) Val66Met polymorphism has been proposed as a possible candidate for involvement in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD). To determine whether an association exists between the BDNF Val66Met genotype and morphometric abnormalities of the brain regions involved in memory and learning in BD and healthy subjects. Forty-two BD patients and 42 healthy subjects were studied.

Temperament and character traits in major depressive disorder: influence of mood state and recurrence of episodes.

Background: The objective of this study was to compare personality traits between major depressive disorder (MDD) patients and healthy comparison subjects (HC) and examine if personality traits in patients are associated with specific clinical characteristics of the disorder.

Methods: Sixty MDD patients (45 depressed, 15 remitted) were compared to 60 HC using the Temperament and Character Inventory. Analysis of covariance, with age and gender as covariates, was used to compare the mean Temperament and Character Inventory scores among the subject groups.

Fronto-limbic circuitry in euthymic bipolar disorder: evidence for prefrontal hyperactivation.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies of bipolar disorder have revealed fronto-limbic abnormalities in patients during manic and depressive episodes. However, relatively few studies have examined neural activity during euthymia, leaving unanswered questions concerning the impact of mood state on activity in these brain regions. In the present study, we examined 15 remitted bipolar type I patients and 16 demographically matched healthy comparison subjects during performance on an affective face-matching task previously shown to elicit amygdala hyperactivation and prefrontal hypoactivation in manic relative to healthy subjects.

MRI study of the cerebellum in young bipolar patients.

Prior studies demonstrate structural abnormalities of cerebellar vermis in adult bipolar patients. Cerebella of 16 young bipolar patients (mean age+/-S.D.

Celecoxib as an adjunct in the treatment of depressive or mixed episodes of bipolar disorder: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled study.

Objective: To investigate whether the cox-2 inhibitor celecoxib has antidepressant effects in bipolar disorder (BD) patients during depressive or mixed phases.

Methods: We studied 28 DSM-IV BD patients who were experiencing a depressive or mixed episode and were on a stable dose of a mood stabilizer or atypical antipsychotic medication. Subjects were randomized to receive 6 weeks of double-blind placebo or celecoxib (400 mg/day) treatment.

Abnormal cellular energy and phospholipid metabolism in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex of medication-free individuals with bipolar disorder: an in vivo 1H MRS study.

Objectives: While the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BD) remains to be elucidated, postmortem and neuroimaging studies have suggested that abnormalities in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) are implicated. We compared the levels of specific brain chemicals of interest measured with proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ((1)H MRS) in medication-free BD subjects and age- and gender-matched healthy controls. We hypothesized that BD subjects would present abnormal cellular metabolism within the DLPFC, as reflected by lower N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) and creatine + phosphocreatine (Cr + PCr).

Prefrontal gray matter increases in healthy individuals after lithium treatment: a voxel-based morphometry study.

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that 4 weeks of lithium administration would be associated with changes in brain gray and white matter volumes in healthy individuals. Thirteen right-handed healthy volunteers (6 females, mean age=25.9+/-10.

Temperament and character traits in patients with bipolar disorder and associations with comorbid alcoholism or anxiety disorders.

Temperament and character traits may determine differences in clinical presentations and outcome of bipolar disorder. We compared personality traits in bipolar patients and healthy individuals using the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI) and sought to verify whether comorbidity with alcoholism or anxiety disorders is associated with specific personality traits. Seventy-three DSM-IV bipolar patients were compared to 63 healthy individuals using the TCI.

A social cognitive approach to emotional intensity judgment deficits in schizophrenia.

Patients with schizophrenia are impaired in both emotion perception and contextual processing, however these two processes have not been thoroughly assessed simultaneously in adults with schizophrenia. This study examined the impact of social contextual information upon the perception of emotional intensity in schizophrenia. 30 clinically stable outpatients with schizophrenia and 30 demographically matched healthy subjects assessed the intensity of a single emotion (anger, disgust, happiness, sadness or fear) from images of people presented under two conditions (context-free and context embedded).