1 Department of Psychiatry and Behavioural Neurosciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
2 MiNDS Neuroscience Graduate Program, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada.
Aust N Z J Psychiatry. 2018 Nov;52(11):1075-1083. doi: 10.1177/0004867417746001. Epub 2017 Dec 13.
Current evidence from neuroimaging data suggests possible dysfunction of the fronto-striatal-limbic circuits in individuals with bipolar disorder. Somatosensory cortical function has been implicated in emotional recognition, risk-taking and affective responses through sensory modalities. This study investigates anatomy and function of the somatosensory cortex in euthymic bipolar women.
In total, 68 right-handed euthymic women (bipolar disorder = 32 and healthy controls = 36) between 16 and 45 years of age underwent high-resolution anatomical and functional magnetic resonance imaging during the mid-follicular menstrual phase. The somatosensory cortex was used as a seed region for resting-state functional connectivity analysis. Voxel-based morphometry was used to evaluate somatosensory cortical gray matter volume between groups.
We found increased resting-state functional connectivity between the somatosensory cortex and insular cortex, inferior prefrontal gyrus and frontal orbital cortex in euthymic bipolar disorder subjects compared to healthy controls. Voxel-based morphometry analysis showed decreased gray matter in the left somatosensory cortex in the bipolar disorder group. Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry analysis controlled by age did not reveal any additional significant difference between groups.
This study is the first to date to evaluate anatomy and function of the somatosensory cortex in a well-characterized sample of euthymic bipolar disorder females. Anatomical and functional changes in the somatosensory cortex in this population might contribute to the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder.
目前来自神经影像学数据的证据表明，双相情感障碍患者存在额纹状体边缘回路功能障碍的可能。体感皮质功能通过感觉模式与情绪识别、冒险行为和情感反应有关。本研究旨在调查处于缓解期的女性双相情感障碍患者的体感皮质的结构和功能。
共纳入 68 名 16 至 45 岁的右利手、处于缓解期的女性（双相情感障碍患者 32 名，健康对照 36 名），她们在卵泡中期接受了高分辨率解剖学和功能磁共振成像检查。以体感皮质作为静息态功能连接分析的种子区域。采用基于体素的形态计量学方法评估组间体感皮质灰质体积。
与健康对照组相比，处于缓解期的双相情感障碍患者的体感皮质与岛叶皮质、下额前回和额眶皮质之间的静息态功能连接增加。基于体素的形态计量学分析显示，双相情感障碍组左侧体感皮质的灰质减少。全脑基于体素的形态计量学分析显示，在控制年龄后，两组间没有发现任何其他显著差异。
本研究首次在一个具有良好特征的处于缓解期的女性双相情感障碍患者样本中评估了体感皮质的结构和功能。该人群体感皮质的结构和功能变化可能有助于双相情感障碍的病理生理学。
