A magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of the anterior cingulate cortex in youth with emotional dysregulation.
BACKGROUND
The main aim of this study was to use proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS) to identify brain biomarkers for emotional dysregulation in youth as measured by subscales of the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL).


METHODS
We measured glutamate (Glu) concentrations in the anterior cingulated cortex (ACC) of 37 pediatric subjects (aged 6-17 years) using high field (4.0 Tesla) proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (MRS). Subjects were grouped based on combined T scores on three subscales (Anxiety/Depression, Aggression and Attention) of the CBCL previously associated with deficits in the regulation of emotion. Subjects were stratified into those with high (> 180) (N=10) and low (< 180) (N=27) scores.


CONCLUSIONS
Limitations include small sample size, wide age range studied, focus on Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) only, and that some subjects received psychopharmacological treatments.


RESULTS
We found a statistically significant correlation between Glu levels in the ACC and CBCL dysregulation profile scores among subjects with high dysregulation profile scores.


CONCLUSIONS
These results suggest that glutamatergic dysregulation in the ACC may represent a useful biomarker of emotional dysregulation in youth. Further investigation into the causality, time line and utility as a predictive metric is warranted.
Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A. Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.
Janet
J
Wozniak
Atilla
A
Gönenç
Joseph
J
Biederman
Constance
C
Moore
Gagan
G
Joshi
Anna
A
Georgiopoulos
Paul
P
Hammerness
Hannah
H
McKillop
Scott E
SE
Lukas
Aude
A
Henin
D000293:Adolescent; D000342:Affective Symptoms / Q000378:metabolism*; D002648:Child; D002653:Child Behavior Disorders / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D006179:Gyrus Cinguli / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D066244:Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy / Q000379:methods*