Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2015 Feb:61:180-7.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2014.12.008. Epub 2014 Dec 23.

Effects of lithium on cortical thickness and hippocampal subfield volumes in psychotic bipolar disorder

C I Giakoumatos  1 , P Nanda  2 , I T Mathew  3 , N Tandon  4 , J Shah  5 , J R Bishop  6 , B A Clementz  7 , G D Pearlson  8 , J A Sweeney  9 , C A Tamminga  9 , M S Keshavan  10
Affiliations

Effects of lithium on cortical thickness and hippocampal subfield volumes in psychotic bipolar disorder

C I Giakoumatos et al. J Psychiatr Res. 2015 Feb.

Abstract

Relative to healthy controls, lithium free bipolar patients exhibit significant gray matter abnormalities. Lithium, the long-time reference standard medication treatment for bipolar disorder, has been proposed to be neuro-protective against these abnormalities. However, its effects on cortical thickness and hippocampal subfield (HSF) volumes remain unstudied and unclear, respectively, in bipolar disorder. This study included 342 healthy controls (HC), 51 lithium free PBD patients (NoLi), and 51 PBD patients taking lithium (Li). Regional gray matter thickness and HSF volume values were extracted from 3T MRI images. After matching NoLi and Li samples, regions where HC differed from either Li or NoLi were identified. In regions of significant or trending HC-NoLi difference, Li-NoLi comparisons were made. No significant HC-Li thickness or HSF volume differences were found. Significantly thinner occipital cortices were observed in NoLi compared to HC. In these regions, Li consistently exhibited non-significant trends for greater cortical thickness relative to NoLi. Significantly less volume was observed in NoLi compared to both HC and Li in right HSFs. Our results suggest that PBD in patients not treated with Li is associated with thinner occipital cortices and reduced HSF volumes compared with HC. Patients treated with Li exhibited significantly larger HSF volumes than NoLi, and those treated with Li were no different from HC in cortical thickness or hippocampal volumes. This evidence directly supports the hypothesis that Li may counteract the locally thinner and smaller gray matter structure found in PBD.

Keywords: Bipolar disorder; Cortical thickness; Hippocampus; Lithium; MRI; Neuro-protective.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest

The other authors report no disclosures.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for regional contrasts demonstrating thinner cortex in lithium free probands relative to controls.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Effect sizes (Cohen’s d) for contrasts demonstrating reduced HSF volumes in lithium free probands relative to controls (HC).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Altshuler LL, Bartzokis G, Grieder T, Curran J, Jimenez T, Leight K, et al. An MRI study of temporal lobe structures in men with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia. Biol Psychiatry. 2000;48(2):147–62. - PubMed
    1. Bearden CE, Thompson PM, Dalwani M, Hayashi KM, Lee AD, Nicoletti M, et al. Greater cortical gray matter density in lithium-treated patients with bipolar disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2007;62(1):7–16. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Benedetti F, Ping-Hong Y, Bellani M, Radaelli D, Nicoletti MA, Poletti S, et al. Disruption of white matter integrity in bipolar depression as a possible structural marker of illness. Biol Psychiatry. 2011;69(4):309–17. - PubMed
    1. Brambilla P, Barale F, Soares JC. Perspectives on the use of anticonvulsants in the treatment of bipolar disorder. Int J Neuropsychopharmacol. 2001;4(4):421–46. - PubMed
    1. Brambilla P, Harenski K, Nicoletti M, Sassi RB, Mallinger AG, Frank E, et al. MRI investigation of temporal lobe structures in bipolar patients. J Psychiatr Res. 2003;37(4):287–95. - PubMed

Publication types