Is cerebellar volume related to bipolar disorder?
Abstract
Background Recent data suggest that cerebellum influences emotion modulation in humans. The findings of cerebellar abnormalities in bipolar disorder (BD) are especially intriguing given the link between the cerebellum emotional and behavioral regulation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate cerebellar volume in patients with euthymic BD type I compared to controls. Moreover, we investigated the possible relationship between cerebellar volume and suicidal behavior. Methods Forty-patients with euthymic BD type I, 20 with and 20 without history of suicide attempt, and 22 healthy controls underwent an MRI scan. The participants were interviewed using the Structured Clinical Interview with the DSM-IV axis I (SCID-I), the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HDRS), the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS) and the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS-11). Results Groups were age, gender and years of schooling-matched. The left cerebellum (p=0.02), right cerebellum (p=0.02) and vermis (p Limitations The main strength is that our sample consisted of patients with euthymic BD type I without any comorbidities, however, these results cannot establish causality as the cross-sectional nature of the study. Conclusions Our findings suggest that the reduction in cerebellar volumes observed in BD type I might be a trait-related characteristic of this disorder. Additional studies with larger samples and subtypes of this heterogeneous disorder are warranted to determine the possible specificity of this…
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Cerebellar abnormalities (reduced volumes, abnormal functional connectivity, abnormal metabolism) are present in bipolar disorder compared to neuronormative populations.
“In bipolar disorder, subjects show reduced cerebellar volumes (Baldacara et al., 2011; DelBello et al., 1999; Mills et al., 2005), abnormal cerebellar functional connectivity (Liang et al., 2013), and abnormal cerebellar metabolism (Johnson et al., 2018; Magnotta et al., 2022) compared to neuronormative populations.”
From A double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled clinical trial of cerebellar intermittent theta burst stimulation for bipolar disorder: Safety, tolerability, mood and cognitive effects (2025) · cites this paper as Baldacara et al., 2011
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References 44 · Cited by 122
- Authors
- Baldaçara, L., Nery-Fernandes, F., Rocha, M., Quarantini, L. C., Rocha, G. G. L., Guimarães, J. L., Araújo, C., Oliveira, I., Miranda-Scippa, A., & Jackowski, A.
- Affiliations
- Universidade Federal do Tocantins (BR)
- Universidade Federal da Bahia (BR)
- Universidade Federal de São Paulo (BR)
- Corresponding author
- Baldaçara, L.
- Venue
- Journal of Affective Disorders
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2011-12
- Volume
- 135
- Issue
- 1-3
- Pages
- 305-309
- ISSN
- 0165-0327 (ISSN-L)
- OpenAlex
- W2051964860
- Cited by
- 122
- References
- 44
- Citations by year
- 2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 7 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 8 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 7 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 27 · 2017: 4 · 2016: 8 · 2015: 10 · 2014: 16 · 2013: 9 · 2012: 6
- FWCI
- 6.78
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Affective Disorders (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- UNIFESP Institutional Repository (Universidade Federal de São Paulo) (submittedVersion)
- 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 I disorder, cerebellar volume, cerebellar vermis, euthymic bipolar patients, suicidal behavior, suicide attempts, brain volumetry, emotion regulation, impulsivity
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Bipolar Disorder, Cerebellum, Female, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Organ Size, Sensitivity and Specificity, Suicide, Attempted, Comorbidity, Case-Control Studies, Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Young Adult
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