Functional connectivity between ventral prefrontal cortex and amygdala at low frequency in the resting state in bipolar disorder

Chepenik, Lara G.; Raffo, Mariella; Hampson, Michelle; Lacadie, Cheryl; Wang, Fei; Jones, Monique M.; Pittman, Brian; Skudlarski, Pawel; Blumberg, Hilary P.

doi:10.1016/j.pscychresns.2010.04.002

« Previous Next »Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging
Volume 182, Issue 3 , Pages 207-210, 30 June 2010

Functional connectivity between ventral prefrontal cortex and amygdala at low frequency in the resting state in bipolar disorder

Lara G. Chepenik
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- REAP Depression Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
- Correspondence. Department of Psychiatry, 300 George St., Suite 901, New Haven, CT 06511, USA. Tel.: +1 203 785 6180; fax: +1 203 785 6394.
Mariella Raffo
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Michelle Hampson
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Cheryl Lacadie
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Fei Wang
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- REAP Depression Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA
Monique M. Jones
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Brian Pittman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
Pawel Skudlarski
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, The Institute of Living, Hartford, CT, USA
Hilary P. Blumberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Department of Diagnostic Radiology, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA
- REAP Depression Center, Veterans Affairs Connecticut Healthcare System, West Haven, CT, USA

Received 4 March 2009; received in revised form 6 April 2010; accepted 7 April 2010.

Abstract

Trait abnormalities in bipolar disorder (BD) within the ventral prefrontal cortex (vPFC) and the amygdala suggest dysfunction in their connectivity. This study employed low frequency resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (LFRS-fMRI) to analyze functional connectivity between the vPFC and the amygdala in BD. LFRS-fMRI identified a negative correlation in vPFC–amygdala activity, and the magnitude of this correlation was greater in healthy participants than in subjects with BD. Additionally, whole-brain analysis revealed higher correlations between left and right vPFC in BD, as well as with ventral striatum.

Keywords: FMRI, Bipolar disorder, Prefrontal cortex, Amygdala