title: GABA System in Schizophrenia and Mood Disorders: A Mini Review on Third-Generation Imaging Studies.
abstract: Third-generation neuroimaging research has been enriched by advances in magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) measuring the concentration of important neurotrasmitters, such as the inhibitory amino acid GABA. Here, we performed a systematic mini-review on brain MRS studies measuring GABA concentration in patients affected by schizophrenia (SZ), bipolar disorder (BD), and major depressive disorder (MDD). We wondered whether multimodal investigations could overcome intrinsic technical limits of MRS giving a broader view of mental disorders pathogenesis. In SZ, unimodal studies gave mixed results, as increased, decreased, or unaltered GABA levels were reported depending on region, disease phase, and treatment. Conversely, multimodal results showed reduced level of glutamate, but not of GABA, in patients mirrored by in vitro biochemical findings revealing hippocampal reduction in glutamate signaling in SZ, and no deficits in GABA synthesis. Moreover, a mouse model confirmed the unique pathological characteristic of glutamate function in SZ. Unimodal studies in BD revealed again, inconsistent results, while no multimodal investigations including MRS on GABA exist. In MDD, unimodal studies could not differentiate patients from controls nor characterize high-risk subjects and remitted patients. However, a multimodal study combining functional magnetic resonance imaging and MRS revealed that cingulate cortex activity is related to glutamate, N-acetylaspartate levels and anhedonia in patients, and to GABA concentration in healthy subjects, improving the distinction between MDD and physiology. Overall, our results show that unimodal studies do not indicate GABA as a biomarker for the psychiatric disorders considered. Conversely, multimodal studies can widen the understanding of the link between psychopathology, genetics, neuroanatomy, and functional-biochemical brain activity in mental disorders. Although scarce, multimodal approaches seem promising for moving from GABA MRS unimodal-descriptive to causal level, and for integrating GABA results into a more comprehensive interpretation of mental disorder pathophysiology.
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Chiara
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Chiapponi
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation , Rome , Italy.
authors.forename: Federica
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Museo Storico della Fisica e Centro Studi e Ricerche Enrico Fermi, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Fabrizio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Piras
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Department of Systems Medicine, University of Rome Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy.
authors.forename: Carlo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caltagirone
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychiatry Laboratory, IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy; Menninger Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Beth K. and Stuart C. Yudofsky Division of Neuropsychiatry, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, USA.
authors.forename: Gianfranco
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Spalletta
keywords: GABA; MRS; bipolar disorder; major depressive disorder; multimodal imaging; schizophrenia