Abnormal corpus callosum integrity in bipolar disorder: a diffusion tensor imaging study.
OBJECTIVE
Abnormalities in the anterior interhemispheric connections provided by the corpus callosum (CC) have long been implicated in bipolar disorder (BD). In this study, we used complementary diffusion tensor imaging methods to study the structural integrity of the CC and localization of potential abnormalities in BD.


METHODS
Subjects included 33 participants with BD and 40 healthy comparison participants. Fractional anisotropy (FA) measures were compared between groups with region of interest (ROI) methods to investigate the anterior, middle, and posterior CC and voxel-based methods to further localize abnormalities.


RESULTS
In ROI-based analyses, FA was significantly decreased in the anterior and middle CC in the BD group (p < .05). Voxel-based analyses similarly localized group differences to the genu, rostral body, and anterior midbody of CC (p < .05, corrected).


CONCLUSIONS
The findings demonstrate abnormalities in the structural integrity of the anterior CC in BD that might contribute to altered interhemispheric connectivity in this disorder.
Wang
Fei
F
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut. Electronic address: fei.wang@yale.edu.
Kalmar
Jessica H
JH
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
Edmiston
Elliot Kale
EK
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
Chepenik
Lara G
LG
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
Bhagwagar
Zubin
Z
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Spencer
Linda
L
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
Pittman
Brian
B
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Jackowski
Marcel
M
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of São Paulo, Brazil.
Papademetris
Xenophon
X
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Constable
R Todd
RT
Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Biomedical Engineering, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Neurosurgery, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut.
Blumberg
Hilary P
HP
Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut; Department of Psychiatry, VA CT Healthcare System, West Haven, Connecticut.
D000328:Adult; D016880:Anisotropy; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000473:pathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003337:Corpus Callosum / Q000473:pathology*; D038524:Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012016:Reference Values; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric; D055815:Young Adult