Abstract
BackgroundBy calculating cortical thickness (CT) and cortical structural covariance (SC), we aimed to investigate cortical morphology and cortical inter-regional correlation alterations in adolescent bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) and type II (BD-II) patients.MethodsT1-weighted images from 36 BD-I and 22 BD-II patients and 19 healthy controls (HCs) were processed to estimate CT. CT values of the whole brain were compared among three groups. Cortical regions showing CT differences in groups were regarded as seeds for analyzing cortical SC differences between groups. The relationship between CT and clinical indices was further assessed.ResultsBoth BD groups showed cortical thinning in several frontal and temporal areas vs. HCs, and CT showed no significant difference between two BD subtypes. Compared to HCs, both BD groups exhibited reduced SC connections between left superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and right postcentral gyrus (PCG), left superior temporal gyrus (STG) and right pars opercularis, and left STG and right PCG. Compared with HCs, decreased SC connections between left STG and right inferior parietal gyrus (IPG) and right pars opercularis and right STG were only observed in the BD-I group, and left PCG and left SFG only in the BD-II group. CT of right middle temporal gyrus was negatively correlated with number of episodes in BD-II patients.ConclusionsAdolescent BD-I and BD-II showed commonly decreased CT while presenting commonly and distinctly declined SC connections. This study provides a better understanding of cortical morphology and cortical inter-regional correlation alterations in BD and crucial insights into neuroanatomical mechanisms and pathophysiology of different BD subtypes.
Highlights
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common mental disorder featuring violent emotional fluctuations [1]
There was no significant difference between BD-I and BD-II groups in onset age, illness duration, number of episodes, first episode, psychotic symptoms, and familial history
There was no significant difference of cortical thickness (CT) between BD-I and BDII groups
Summary
Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common mental disorder featuring violent emotional fluctuations [1]. Brain imaging provides a noninvasive approach for exploring the brain structure, making it a hot spot in the study of the pathological mechanism of mood disorders [5]. For better understanding the underlying mechanisms of BD, investigating neural structural changes may contribute to improving treatment and diagnosis of individuals with BD. The neural underpinnings of BD progression remain unclear, research suggests that mood episodes could cause lasting neurobiological changes [7]. Individuals with BD-I and BD-II exhibit different symptoms, which partly indicates different neurobiological mechanisms and pathophysiology of the two BD subtypes [8]. By calculating cortical thickness (CT) and cortical structural covariance (SC), we aimed to investigate cortical morphology and cortical inter-regional correlation alterations in adolescent bipolar disorder type I (BD-I) and type II (BD-II) patients
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