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A proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy investigation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in acute mania
Author(s) -
Frey Benício N.,
Folgierini Marcelo,
Nicoletti Mark,
MachadoVieira Rodrigo,
Stanley Jeffrey A.,
Soares Jair C.,
Kapczinski Flávio
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
human psychopharmacology: clinical and experimental
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.461
H-Index - 78
eISSN - 1099-1077
pISSN - 0885-6222
DOI - 10.1002/hup.671
Subject(s) - dorsolateral prefrontal cortex , bipolar disorder , phosphocreatine , mania , neurochemical , psychology , creatine , choline , medicine , neuroscience , prefrontal cortex , endocrinology , cognition , energy metabolism
Background Several neurochemical abnormalities have been reported in bipolar disorder (BD), but the exact mechanisms that underlie its pathophysiology remain to be elucidated. Proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy ( 1 HMRS) allows in vivo measurements of certain neurometabolites in the human brain. 1 HMRS was used to investigate the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in bipolar subjects during a manic or mixed phase. N‐acetyl‐ L ‐aspartate (NAA), choline‐containing molecules (Cho), creatine plus phosphocreatine (Cr) and myo inositol (Ino) were measured. Method Ten bipolar patients (nine manic, one mixed), diagnosed by a semi‐structured clinical interview (SCID), and ten age‐ and gender‐matched healthy volunteers were studied. Absolute neurometabolites levels were measured from two 8 cm 3 voxels placed in left and right DLPFC using a short TE 1 HMRS method at 1.5 T. T1‐ and T2‐weighted anatomical magnetic resonance imaging was performed to exclude any neuroanatomical abnormality. Results No significant differences were found for NAA, Cho, Cr, Ino, NAA/Cr, Cho/Cr or Ino/Cr between patients and controls. Manic/mixed patients had significantly higher left‐to‐right myo inositol ratios in DLPFC ( p = 0.044). Conclusions Increased left‐to‐right myo inositol ratios in the DLPFC in bipolar patients during acute mania may represent a dysfunction in the phosphoinositide‐signaling pathway. Longitudinal studies with larger samples of unmedicated patients assessing pre‐ and post‐treatment times will be required for further clarification of the time course of these abnormalities and the relationship with treatment effects. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.