Voxel-based morphometry in adolescents with bipolar disorder: first results.
Bipolar disorder is an increasingly recognized cause of significant morbidity in the pediatric age group. However, there is still a large degree of uncertainty regarding the underlying neurobiological deficits. In this preliminary study, we performed automated volumetric studies and whole-brain voxel-based morphometry (VBM) on gray matter. Imaging data from 10 adolescents with bipolar disorder were compared with data from 52 age- and gender-matched healthy controls. Previously defined brain parcellations and optimized VBM protocols were used, based on custom-made pediatric reference data. An additional, exploratory whole-brain comparison was also implemented. The volumetric region-of-interest study revealed significantly greater gray matter volume in central gray matter structures bilaterally (including the basal ganglia and the thalamus) and the left temporal lobe in the bipolar group. VBM confirmed bilaterally larger basal ganglia. Localized gray matter deficits in bipolar subjects were found in the medial temporal lobe, orbito-frontal cortex, and the anterior cingulate, confirming and extending earlier studies.
Wilke
Marko
M
Imaging Research Center and Department of Psychiatry, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, Cincinnati, OH, USA. Marko.Wilke@med.uni-tuebingen.de
Kowatch
Robert A
RA
DelBello
Melissa P
MP
Mills
Neil P
NP
Holland
Scott K
SK
D000293:Adolescent; D016477:Artifacts; D001479:Basal Ganglia / Q000473:pathology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis*; D001921:Brain / Q000473:pathology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007090:Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D021621:Imaging, Three-Dimensional; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008432:Mathematical Computing; D012016:Reference Values