Dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal gray matter density changes associated with bipolar depression

Brooks, John O.; Bonner, Julie C.; Rosen, Allyson C.; Wang, Po W.; Hoblyn, Jennifer C.; Hill, Shelley J.; Ketter, Terence A.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2008.06.007

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 172, Issue 3 , Pages 200-204, 30 June 2009

Dorsolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal gray matter density changes associated with bipolar depression

John O. Brooks III
- Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Psychiatry Service, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
- Corresponding author. Veterans Affairs HCS, 3801 Miranda Ave. (118J), Palo Alto, CA 94304, USA. Tel.: +1 650 493 5000x65182; fax: +1 650 852 3386.
Julie C. Bonner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Allyson C. Rosen
- Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Psychiatry Service, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Po W. Wang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Jennifer C. Hoblyn
- Palo Alto Veterans Affairs Health Care System, Psychiatry Service, Palo Alto, CA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Shelley J. Hill
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA
Terence A. Ketter
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, USA

Received 24 August 2007; received in revised form 10 April 2008; accepted 12 June 2008.

Abstract

Mood states are associated with alterations in cerebral blood flow and metabolism, yet changes in cerebral structure are typically viewed in the context of enduring traits, genetic predispositions, or the outcome of chronic psychiatric illness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans were obtained from two groups of patients with bipolar disorder. In one group, patients met criteria for a current major depressive episode whereas in the other no patient did. No patient in either group met criteria for a current manic, hypomanic, or mixed episode. Groups were matched with respect to age and illness severity. Analyses of gray matter density were performed with Statistical Parametric Mapping software (SPM5). Compared with non-depressed bipolar subjects, depressed bipolar subjects exhibited lower gray matter density in the right dorsolateral and bilateral dorsomedial prefrontal cortices and portions of the left parietal lobe. In addition, gray matter density was greater in the left temporal lobe and right posterior cingulate cortex/parahippocampal gyrus in depressed than in non-depressed subjects. Our findings highlight the importance of mood state in structural studies of the brain—an issue that has received insufficient attention to date. Moreover, our observed differences in gray matter density overlap metabolic areas of change and thus have implications for the conceptualization and treatment of affective disorders.

Keywords: Bipolar disorder, Magnetic resonance imaging, Prefrontal cortex