[Neuroimaging of bipolar disorders]

Abstract

During recent years, marked progress has been made both in structural and functional neuroimaging of affective disorders. Structural changes in the limbic system, prefrontal cortex and subcortical regions including their fascicular connections appear to correlate with affective disorders in most, but not all studies. Especially for bipolar disorder, there still is a considerable heterogeneity among the results. Functional neuroimaging (fMRI, SPECT, PET) underlines the importance of paralimbic, cortical and subcortical structures in mood regulation; however, the methodology of these studies is still in its infancy meaning that the results of these studies are not always reproducible. However, in summary it can be expected that with improving methodology functional neuroimaging will play an increasing role in affective, including bipolar, disorders in the near future.