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Cited by 289Bipolar Disorder and TreatmentSchizophrenia research and treatmentTreatment of Major Depression

Greater Cortical Gray Matter Density in Lithium-Treated Patients with Bipolar Disorder

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Bearden, Carrie E., Thompson, Paul M., Dalwani, Manish, Hayashi, Kiralee M., Lee, Agatha D., Nicoletti, Mark, Trakhtenbroit, Michael, Glahn, David C. +6 more·2007·Biological Psychiatry
DOI 10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.027PMC PMC3586797
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Abstract

Background The neurobiological underpinnings of bipolar disorder are not well understood. Previous neuroimaging findings have been inconsistent; however, new methods for three-dimensional (3-D) computational image analysis may better characterize neuroanatomic changes than standard volumetric measures. Methods We used high-resolution magnetic resonance imaging and cortical pattern matching methods to map gray matter differences in 28 adults with bipolar disorder, 70% of whom were lithium-treated (mean age = 36.1 +/- 10.5; 13 female subject), and 28 healthy control subjects (mean age = 35.9 +/- 8.5; 11 female subjects). Detailed spatial analyses of gray matter density (GMD) were conducted by measuring local proportions of gray matter at thousands of homologous cortical locations. Results Gray matter density was significantly greater in bipolar patients relative to control subjects in diffuse cortical regions. Greatest differences were found in bilateral cingulate and paralimbic cortices, brain regions critical for attentional, motivational, and emotional modulation. Secondary region of interest (ROI) analyses indicated significantly greater GMD in the right anterior cingulate among lithium-treated bipolar patients (n = 20) relative to those not taking lithium (n = 8). Conclusions These brain maps are consistent with previous voxel-based morphometry reports of greater GMD in portions of the anterior limbic network in bipolar patients and suggest neurotrophic effects of lithium as a possible etiology of these neuroanatomic differences.

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  • Lithium can restore PFC activity and grey matter levels in patients with bipolar disorder.

    “There is recent evidence that lithium can restore PFC activity and grey matter levels in patients with bipolar disorder141–143.”

    From Stress signalling pathways that impair prefrontal cortex structure and function (2009) · cites this paper as [142]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports greater gray matter concentration in the ventral prefrontal cortex and other regions of lithium-treated patients with bipolar disorder, supporting the gray-matter part of the claim. It describes evidence for normalization of frontotemporal function by mood-stabilizing medications as preliminary; it does not establish that lithium restores PFC activity. (LLM, conf=0.86)

    Experimental — accuracy not yet measured

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Authors
Bearden, C. E., Thompson, P. M., Dalwani, M., Hayashi, K. M., Lee, A. D., Nicoletti, M., Trakhtenbroit, M., Glahn, D. C., Brambilla, P., Sassi, R. B., Mallinger, A. G., Frank, E., Kupfer, D. J., & Soares, J. C.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • The University of Texas at San Antonio Health Science Center (US)
  • University of Udine (IT)
  • Universidade de São Paulo (BR)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
Corresponding author
Bearden, Carrie E.
ORCID
Venue
Biological Psychiatry
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2007-07
Volume
62
Issue
1
Pages
7-16
ISSN
0006-3223 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.biopsych.2006.10.027
PMC
PMC3586797
OpenAlex
W2004850661
Cited by
289
References
3
Citations by year
2026: 4 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 1 · 2022: 9 · 2021: 29 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 11 · 2016: 13 · 2015: 12 · 2014: 17 · 2013: 12 · 2012: 23
FWCI
23.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.elsevier.com/tdm/userlicense/1.0/ (tdm)
Locations
  • Biological Psychiatry (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • UNIFESP Institutional Repository (Universidade Federal de São Paulo) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • National Institute on Aging (AG021431, R01AG021431)
  • National Institute of Mental Health (MH030915, P20MH068662, K23MH074644, MH 29618, MH 068662, MH 068766, R01MH068766, R01MH029618, K23MH001736, P30MH086045, P30MH030915, MH01736, R37MH029618)
  • National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (EB 01651, R01EB016516)
  • National Center for Research Resources (K24RR020571, RR-020571, R21RR019771, RR019771)
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Bipolar Disorder and Treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Schizophrenia research and treatment
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Pharmacology › Treatment of Major Depression
Keywords
bipolar disorder, lithium therapy, gray matter density, anterior cingulate cortex, paralimbic cortex, limbic system
MeSH terms
Adult, Bipolar Disorder, Brain Mapping, Cerebral Cortex, Female, Gyrus Cinguli, Humans, Hypertrophy, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Functional Laterality, Limbic System, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Lithium Compounds, Neuroprotective Agents, Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor, Imaging, Three-Dimensional

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