White Matter Abnormalities in Bipolar Adolescents

描述(申请人提供)：此小额补助金(R03)的申请来自一位独立调查员，她希望扩大(但不改变)她的研究领域，将双相情感障碍青少年的神经成像包括在内。申请者是NIMH资助的一项正在进行的关于双相青少年“早发性双相情感障碍的治疗和结果”的受控纵向治疗研究的首席研究员(1R01MH60845)。北岸-长岛犹太人健康系统的经验丰富的神经成像调查人员为PI提供了足够的支持，以在这一人群中进行神经成像研究。神经成像研究表明，白质病理与双相情感障碍的神经生物学有关，表现为高信号和功能异常。在这项初步研究中，我们建议使用扩散张量成像(DTI)来表征连接腹侧脑区的白质可能的异常，这些脑区被假设在与双相情感障碍相关的情感不稳定中发挥关键作用。研究参与者将包括30名患有双相I型障碍的青少年和30名年龄、性别和智商匹配的健康志愿者。涉及这一年龄段的双相情感障碍的病理生理学研究将包括更多的首发患者和较短的疗程。这项拟议研究的招募工作将由PI正在进行的由NIMH资助的双相青少年纵向治疗研究提供便利。

DESCRIPTION (provided by applicant): This application for a Small Grant (R03) is from an independent investigator, who wishes to expand (but not change) her area of investigation to include neuroimaging of adolescents with bipolar disorder. The applicant is the principal investigator of an ongoing NIMH funded controlled longitudinal treatment study with bipolar adolescents "Treatment and Outcome of Early-Onset Bipolar Disorder" (1R01MH60845). There is ample support available to the PI to undertake neuroimaging studies in this population from experienced neuroimaging investigators at the North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System. Neuroimaging studies have implicated white matter pathology in the neurobiology of bipolar disorder in the form of hyperintensities and functional abnormalities. In this pilot study we propose to use diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to characterize possible abnormalities in the white matter connecting ventral brain regions that have been hypothesized to play a key role in the affective instability associated with bipolar disorder. Study participants will include 30 adolescents with Bipolar I disorder and 30 age, gender and IQ-matched healthy volunteers. Studies investigating the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder that involve this age group will include a greater number of first episode patients with a shorter duration of treatment. Recruitment for this proposed study will be facilitated by the PI's ongoing NIMH-funded longitudinal treatment study of bipolar adolescents.