Elsevier

Biological Psychiatry

Volume 64, Issue 8, 15 October 2008, Pages 730-733
Biological Psychiatry

Brief Report
Abnormal Corpus Callosum Integrity in Bipolar Disorder: A Diffusion Tensor Imaging Study

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsych.2008.06.001Get rights and content

Objective

Abnormalities in the anterior interhemispheric connections provided by the corpus callosum (CC) have long been implicated in bipolar disorder (BD). In this study, we used complementary diffusion tensor imaging methods to study the structural integrity of the CC and localization of potential abnormalities in BD.

Methods

Subjects included 33 participants with BD and 40 healthy comparison participants. Fractional anisotropy (FA) measures were compared between groups with region of interest (ROI) methods to investigate the anterior, middle, and posterior CC and voxel-based methods to further localize abnormalities.

Results

In ROI-based analyses, FA was significantly decreased in the anterior and middle CC in the BD group (p < .05). Voxel-based analyses similarly localized group differences to the genu, rostral body, and anterior midbody of CC (p < .05, corrected).

Conclusion

The findings demonstrate abnormalities in the structural integrity of the anterior CC in BD that might contribute to altered interhemispheric connectivity in this disorder.

Section snippets

Participants

The Structured Clinical Interview for DSM-IV Axis I Disorders Version 2.0 (SCID) (6) confirmed the presence or absence of Axis I Disorders and mood state at scanning for the 33 BD and 40 healthy comparison (HC) participants studied. Symptoms were assessed with the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) (7) and Clinician-Administered Rating Scale for Mania (CARS-M) (8). No subject had a history of neurological illness, head trauma with loss of consciousness over 5 min, or major medical

Results

The BD and HC groups did not differ significantly in age, gender, or SES scores (p values > .1). Data adhered to a normal distribution.

Discussion

With complementary ROI- and voxel-based DTI methods, we found decreased FA values in the participants with BD compared with HC participants in anterior and middle CC subregions encompassing the genu, rostral body, and the anterior portion of the midbody. The interhemispheric white matter connections of the CC are critical to interhemispheric communication and to the integration of emotional, cognitive, motor, and sensory information. Abnormalities in interhemispheric functioning in BD have been

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