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A functional MRI study of verbal fluency in adults with bipolar disorder and their unaffected relatives

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2010

M. P. G. Allin ,
N. Marshall ,
K. Schulze ,
M. Walshe ,
M.-H. Hall ,
M. Picchioni ,
R. M. Murray  and
C. McDonald
M. P. G. Allin*
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
N. Marshall
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
K. Schulze
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
M. Walshe
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
M.-H. Hall
Affiliation:
Psychology Research Laboratory, Harvard Medical School, McLean Hospital, Belmont, MA, USA
M. Picchioni
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
R. M. Murray
Affiliation:
King's College London, Institute of Psychiatry, Department of Psychological Medicine and Psychiatry, London, UK
C. McDonald
Affiliation:
Department of Psychiatry, National University of Ireland, Galway, Galway, Republic of Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr M. P. G. Allin, Box 63, Institute of Psychiatry, De Crespigny Park, London SE5 8AF, UK. (Email: [email protected])
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Abstract

Background

Individuals with a history of bipolar disorder demonstrate abnormalities of executive function, even during euthymia. The neural architecture underlying this and its relationship with genetic susceptibility for illness remain unclear.

Method

We assessed 18 remitted individuals with bipolar disorder, 19 of their unaffected first degree relatives and 19 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and a paced verbal fluency task with two levels of difficulty.

Results

Bipolar patients made significantly more errors in the easy level of the verbal fluency task than their relatives or controls. Analysis of variance of fMRI data demonstrated a significant main effect of group in a large cluster including retrosplenial cortex and adjacent precuneate cortex (x=7, y=−56, x=15). All three groups showed deactivation in these areas during task performance relative to a neutral or rest condition. Group differences comprised a lesser amount of deactivation in unaffected relatives compared with controls in the easy condition [F(2, 55)=3.42, p=0.04] and in unaffected relatives compared with bipolar patients in the hard condition [F(2, 55)=4.34, p=0.018]. Comparison with the control group indicated that both bipolar patients and their relatives showed similar deficits of deactivation in retrosplenial cortex and reduced activation of left prefrontal cortex.

Conclusions

Bipolar disorder may be associated with an inherited abnormality of a neural network incorporating left prefrontal cortex and bilateral retrosplenial cortex.

Keywords

Bipolar affective disordercognitionfMRI
Type
Original Articles
Information
Psychological Medicine , Volume 40 , Issue 12 , December 2010 , pp. 2025 - 2035
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

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