Increased volume of the amygdala and hippocampus in bipolar patients treated with lithium

Lara C. Foland, Lori L. Altshuler, Catherine A. Sugar, Agatha D. Lee, Alex D. Leow, Jennifer Townsend, Katherine L. Narr, Dina M. Asuncion, Arthur W. Toga, Paul M. Thompson

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

130 Scopus citations

Abstract

Previous structural neuroimaging studies of bipolar disorder have reported conflicting findings in limbic structures. Medication heterogeneity of patient samples may have contributed to these inconsistencies. Using structural magnetic resonance imaging we assessed whether lithium treatment was associated with differences in amygdala and hippocampal volumes in a sample of bipolar adults. A total of 49 magnetic resonance imaging scans were collected from patients who were currently treated with or without lithium. Amygdala and hippocampal volumes were analyzed using tensor-based morphometry. Statistical between-group comparisons of deformation maps showed that patients treated with lithium exhibited significantly increased volumes of the amygdala and hippocampus compared with patients who were not taking lithium. Our findings may help to explain previous inconsistencies in the bipolar literature.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)221-224
Number of pages4
JournalNeuroReport
Volume19
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Jan 2008
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Amygdala
  • Bipolar disorder
  • Emotion
  • Hippocampus
  • Lithium
  • Magnetic resonance imaging
  • Mood disorder

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