Abstract
BackgroundAlterations in functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and frontal cortices have been previously associated with the presence of psychiatric syndromes, including bipolar disorder (BD). Whether these alterations are a consequence or a risk factor for mental disorders remains unresolved. MethodsThis study included 35 patients with BD, 30 nonaffected siblings of patients with BD, and 23 healthy control subjects to probe functional connectivity at rest between NAcc and the rest of the brain in a cross-sectional design. Blood oxygen level–dependent time series at rest from NAcc were used as seed region in a voxelwise correlational analysis. The strength of the correlations found was compared across groups after Fisher’s Z transformation. ResultsWe found increased functional connectivity between the NAcc and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex—comprising mainly the subgenual anterior cingulate—in patients compared with healthy control subjects. Participants at increased genetic risk but yet resilient—nonaffected siblings—showed functional connectivity values midway between the former two groups. ConclusionsOur results are indicative of the potential for the connectivity between NAcc and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex to represent an endophenotype for BD.
Highlights
Alterations in functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and frontal cortices have been previously associated with the presence of psychiatric syndromes, including bipolar disorder (BD)
The present study aimed to examine the existence of NAcc functional connectivity alterations in BD during the absence of acute symptoms
The main aim of this study was to investigate potential alterations in functional connectivity between the NAcc and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in patients with BD and to examine whether similar alterations could be found in unaffected siblings of patients with BD. Our results show these two brain regions to be positively associated within all groups but differing in intensity across patients with BD, SIB participants, and unaffected unrelated healthy control (HC) subjects, suggesting that this biomarker may behave as an endophenotype for this disorder
Summary
Alterations in functional connectivity between the nucleus accumbens (NAcc) and frontal cortices have been previously associated with the presence of psychiatric syndromes, including bipolar disorder (BD). Whether these alterations are a consequence or a risk factor for mental disorders remains unresolved. METHODS: This study included 35 patients with BD, 30 nonaffected siblings of patients with BD, and 23 healthy control subjects to probe functional connectivity at rest between NAcc and the rest of the brain in a cross-sectional design. RESULTS: We found increased functional connectivity between the NAcc and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex— comprising mainly the subgenual anterior cingulate—in patients compared with healthy control subjects.
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