Abnormal anterior cingulum integrity in bipolar disorder determined through diffusion tensor imaging

• Published in: British journal of psychiatry 2008-08, Vol.193 (2), p.126-129
• Main Authors: Wang, Fei, Jackowski, Marcel, Kalmar, Jessica H., Chepenik, Lara G., Tie, Karen, Qiu, Maolin, Gong, Gaolang, Pittman, Brian P., Jones, Monique M., Shah, Maulik P., Spencer, Linda, Papademetris, Xenophon, Constable, R. Todd, Blumberg, Hilary P.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age; Anisotropy; Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder; Bipolar affective disorder; Bipolar disorder; Bipolar Disorder - pathology; Bipolar Disorder - physiopathology; Brain imaging; Brain Mapping - methods; Candidates; Case-Control Studies; Cingulum; Cortex; Cortex (cingulate); Diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Diffusion tensor imaging; Emotional regulation; Female; Gyrus Cinguli - pathology; Gyrus Cinguli - physiopathology; Humans; Magnetic resonance imaging; Male; Models, Neurological; Morality; Nervous system; Neuroimaging; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Psychiatry; Statistics as Topic; Substantia alba; Substantia grisea
• ISSN: 0007-1250; 1472-1465
• DOI: 10.1192/bjp.bp.107.048793

Convergent evidence implicates white matter abnormalities in bipolar disorder. The cingulum is an important candidate structure for study in bipolar disorder as it provides substantial white matter connections within the corticolimbic neural system that subserves emotional regulation involved in the disorder. To test the hypothesis that bipolar disorder is associated with abnormal white matter integrity in the cingulum. Fractional anisotropy in the anterior and posterior cingulum was compared between 42 participants with bipolar disorder and 42 healthy participants using diffusion tensor imaging. Fractional anisotropy was significantly decreased in the anterior cingulum in the bipolar disorder group compared with the healthy group (P=0.003); however, fractional anisotropy in the posterior cingulum did not differ significantly between groups. Our findings demonstrate abnormalities in the structural integrity of the anterior cingulum in bipolar disorder. They extend evidence that supports involvement of the neural system comprising the anterior cingulate cortex and its corticolimbic gray matter connection sites in bipolar disorder to implicate abnormalities in the white matter connections within the system provided by the cingulum.