Bipolar disorder affects the thinnest cortical gray matter in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions of both cerebral hemispheres and also the hippocampus. Participants with bipolar disorder showed thinner cortical gray matter in the frontal, temporal and parietal regions of both cerebral hemispheres. This new map of the bipolar brain gives us a roadmap of where to look for the effects of treatment, said Thompson, associate director of the Stevens Institute for Neuroimaging and Informatics at USC at the Keck School of Medicine. Structural and functional brain imaging studies in bipolar disorder provide direct support to indications of prefrontal cortical pathophysiology based on neurocognition studies.
Mapping affected brain regions is also important for early detection and prevention, said Paul Thompson, director of the ENIGMA consortium and co-author of the study. By revealing clear and consistent alterations in key regions of the brain, findings published in Molecular Psychiatry on May 2 provide insight into the underlying mechanisms of bipolar disorder. In the largest MRI study to date in patients with bipolar disorder, a global consortium released new research showing that people with this condition have differences in the regions of the brain that control inhibition and emotion. A study led by researchers at the University of Texas at Houston Health Science Center (UTHealth) linked a decrease in volume in specific parts of the brain's hippocampus, long identified as a center of mood and memory processing.
Disruption of circuits that communicate using dopamine in other areas of the brain seems to be related to psychosis and schizophrenia, a serious mental disorder characterized by distortions in reality and illogical thinking patterns and behaviors. Three brain chemicals, norepinephrine (norepinephrine), serotonin and dopamine, are involved in both brain and body functions. Researchers believe that abnormal functioning of brain circuits involving serotonin as a chemical messenger contributes to mood disorders (depression and bipolar disorder). The purpose of this article is to summarize the psychological and neurobiological studies that have been sought to characterize the profile of brain dysfunction in bipolar disorder.
“We created the first world map of bipolar disorder and how it affects the brain, solving years of uncertainty about how people's brains differentiate when they have this serious illness,” said Ole A. The biggest deficits were found in the parts of the brain that control inhibition and motivation: temporal regions.
