RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Age-related deficits in intracortical myelination in young adults with bipolar disorder type I
JF Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience
JO J Psychiatry Neurosci
FD Canadian Medical Association
SP 79
OP 88
DO 10.1503/jpn.170220
VO 44
IS 2
A1 Manpreet Sehmbi
A1 Christopher D. Rowley
A1 Luciano Minuzzi
A1 Flavio Kapczinski
A1 Jacek M. Kwiecien
A1 Nicholas A. Bock
A1 Benicio N. Frey
YR 2019
UL http://jpn.ca/content/44/2/79.abstract
AB Background: Previous studies have implicated white-matter-related changes in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. However, most of what is known is derived from in vivo subcortical white-matter imaging or postmortem studies. In this study, we investigated whole-brain intracortical myelin (ICM) content in people with bipolar disorder type I and controls.Methods: Between Sept. 1, 2014, and Jan. 31, 2017, we used a 3 T General Electric scanner to collect T1-weighted images in 45 people with bipolar disorder type I and 60 controls aged 17 to 45 years using an optimized sequence that was sensitive to ICM content. We analyzed images using a surface-based approach. We used general linear models with quadratic age terms to examine the signal trajectory of ICM across the age range.Results: In healthy controls, the T1-weighted signal followed an inverted-U trajectory over age; in people with bipolar disorder type I, the association between ICM and age followed a flat trajectory (p < 0.05, Bonferroni corrected). Exploratory analyses showed that ICM signal intensity was associated with duration of illness, age of onset, and anticonvulsant and antipsychotic use in people with bipolar disorder type I (p < 0.05, uncorrected).Limitations Because of the cross-sectional nature of the study, we were unable to comment on whether the effects were due to dysmyelination or demyelination in bipolar disorder.Conclusion: This foundational study is, to our knowledge, the first to show global age-related deficits in ICM maturation throughout the cortex in bipolar disorder. Considering the impact of myelination on the maintenance of neural synchrony and the integrity of neural connections, this work may help us better understand the cognitive and behavioural deficits seen in bipolar disorder.