Clinical and Affective Neuroscience Lab, Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Behav Brain Res. 2021 May 21;406:113228. doi: 10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113228. Epub 2021 Mar 5.
Bipolar disorder is an affective disorder characterized by rapid fluctuations in mood ranging from episodes of depression to mania, as well as by increased impulsivity. Previous studies investigated the neural substrates of bipolar disorder mainly using univariate methods, with a particular focus on the neural circuitry underlying emotion regulation difficulties. In the present study, capitalizing on an innovative whole-brain multivariate method to structural analysis known as Source-based Morphometry, we investigated the neural substrates of bipolar disorder and their relation with impulsivity, assessed with both self-report measures and performance-based tasks. Structural images from 46 patients with diagnosis of bipolar disorder and 60 healthy controls were analysed. Compared to healthy controls, patients showed decreased gray matter concentration in a parietal-occipital-cerebellar network. Notably, the lower the gray matter concentration in this circuit, the higher the self-reported impulsivity. In conclusion, we provided new evidence of an altered brain network in bipolar disorder patients related to their abnormal impulsivity. Taken together, these findings extend our understanding of the neural and symptomatic characterization of bipolar disorder.
双相情感障碍是一种情感障碍，其特征是情绪迅速波动，从抑郁发作到躁狂，以及冲动性增加。以前的研究主要使用单变量方法研究双相情感障碍的神经基础，特别关注情绪调节困难的神经回路。在本研究中，我们利用一种创新的全脑多变量方法对结构分析（称为基于源的形态测量学），研究了双相情感障碍的神经基础及其与冲动性的关系，冲动性评估既包括自我报告测量，也包括基于表现的任务。对 46 名被诊断为双相情感障碍的患者和 60 名健康对照者的结构图像进行了分析。与健康对照组相比，患者在顶枕叶小脑网络中表现出灰质浓度降低。值得注意的是，该回路中的灰质浓度越低，自我报告的冲动性就越高。总之，我们提供了新的证据，证明双相情感障碍患者存在与异常冲动性相关的大脑网络改变。总之，这些发现扩展了我们对双相情感障碍的神经和症状特征的理解。
