Smaller left anterior cingulate cortex in non-bipolar relatives of patients with bipolar disorder

AUTOR(ES)

Sanches, Marsal, Amorim, Edilberto, Mwangi, Benson, Zunta-Soares, Giovana B., Soares, Jair C.

FONTE

Braz. J. Psychiatry.

DATA DE PUBLICAÇÃO

06/12/2018

RESUMO

Objective: Bipolar disorder (BD) is highly heritable. The present study aimed at identifying brain morphometric features that could represent markers of BD vulnerability in non-bipolar relatives of bipolar patients. Methods: In the present study, structural magnetic resonance imaging brain scans were acquired from a total of 93 subjects, including 31 patients with BD, 31 non-bipolar relatives of BD patients, and 31 healthy controls. Volumetric measurements of the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), lateral ventricles, amygdala, and hippocampus were completed using the automated software FreeSurfer. Results: Analysis of covariance (with age, gender, and intracranial volume as covariates) indicated smaller left ACC volumes in unaffected relatives as compared to healthy controls and BD patients (p = 0.004 and p = 0.037, respectively). No additional statistically significant differences were detected for other brain structures. Conclusion: Our findings suggest smaller left ACC volume as a viable biomarker candidate for BD.

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