title: Neuron somal size is decreased in the lateral amygdalar nucleus of subjects with bipolar disorder.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Morphometric studies of postmortem brains from subjects with mood disorders have reported altered density of glial cells in the amygdala; however, the nuclear regions have not been examined individually.
  
  
  METHODS
  We assessed the size and density of both neuronal and glial cells in discrete amygdalar nuclei in postmortem sections from subjects with major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder (BD) and schizophrenia and from nonpsychiatric control subjects. Three adjacent Nissl-stained sections were examined from each individual.
  
  
  RESULTS
  We report significantly decreased neuron somal size in the lateral amygdalar nucleus (LAN) and the accessory basal parvocellular nucleus (ABPC) in subjects with BD, relative to control subjects. These changes in cellular morphology were most prominent in the LAN in sections obtained from the left hemisphere.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  These findings add to increasing evidence for neuropathological changes in the amygdala of subjects with BD and specifically implicate the LAN and ABPC in this disorder.
authors.affiliation: The Vivian Rakoff Mood Disorders Lab, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
authors.forename: Yarema B
authors.initials: YB
authors.lastname: Bezchlibnyk
authors.forename: Xiujun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.forename: Jun-Feng
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.forename: Glenda M
authors.initials: GM
authors.lastname: MacQueen
authors.forename: Bruce S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: McEwen
authors.forename: L Trevor
authors.initials: LT
authors.lastname: Young
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000679:Amygdala / Q000473:pathology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D048429:Cell Size; D003865:Major Depressive Disorder / Q000473:pathology; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009457:Neuroglia / Q000473:pathology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D012183:Retrograde Degeneration / Q000473:pathology