Caetano Sheila C, Olvera Rene L, Glahn David, Fonseca Manoela, Pliszka Steven, Soares Jair C
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, 78229, USA.
Biol Psychiatry. 2005 Oct 1;58(7):525-31. doi: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2005.04.027. Epub 2005 Jul 12.
Advances in brain imaging techniques and cognitive neuropsychology have brought new possibilities for the in vivo study of the pathophysiology of neuropsychiatric disorders, including bipolar disorder (BD). Recently, such studies have been extended to the pediatric age range. Here we review the neuroimaging and neuropsychological studies conducted in BD children and adolescents.
A review of the peer-reviewed published literature was conducted in Medline for the period of 1966 to April 2005.
Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) studies suggest abnormalities in fronto-limbic structures in pediatric BD patients, similar to those found in adults. A notable exception in pediatric BD patients is smaller amygdala volumes compared to healthy controls, contrary to what has been reported in most adult studies.
Further research evaluating children and adolescents is needed to study the normal neurodevelopmental process and to answer how and when the illness processes that result in bipolar disorder exert their effects on the developing brain.
脑成像技术和认知神经心理学的进展为双相情感障碍（BD）等神经精神疾病的病理生理学活体研究带来了新的可能性。最近，此类研究已扩展至儿童年龄范围。在此，我们回顾了针对BD儿童和青少年开展的神经影像学和神经心理学研究。
在Medline数据库中对1966年至2005年4月期间发表的同行评议文献进行了综述。
磁共振成像（MRI）和磁共振波谱（MRS）研究表明，儿科BD患者的额-边缘结构存在异常，这与在成人中发现的情况相似。儿科BD患者一个显著的例外是，与健康对照相比，杏仁核体积较小，这与大多数成人研究的报道相反。
需要进一步开展针对儿童和青少年的研究，以研究正常的神经发育过程，并回答导致双相情感障碍的疾病过程如何以及何时对发育中的大脑产生影响。
