Bipolar disorder is a disabling and costly mental illness. The number of elderly mentally ill individuals will increase rapidly in the coming decades, yet there has been little research focused on geriatric bipolar patients. In particular, little is known about changes in brain structure and function due to aging that may underlie worsening cognition. NIMH has recognized this unfortunate gap, and PA-07-077 calls for """"""""new research...
aim ed at delineating the neural circuitry...involved in late-life mood and anxiety disorders."""""""" Combining clinical and neuroscience expertise and cutting-edge technologies, the proposed study, led by a new investigator, aims to (1) investigate age-related differences in the structure, function, and connectivity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in bipolar disorder and whether these differences are greater than would be expected due to normal age-related changes, (2) examine whether gray and white matter structural integrity serve as possible mediators of the relationship between age and PFC function and functional connectivity, and (3) examine whether PFC function and functional connectivity serve as possible mediators of the relationship between age and cognitive performance. Important secondary analyses will examine similar questions regarding measures of chronicity of bipolar illness and illness course, such as duration since first episode, number of manic and depressive episodes, and cumulative exposure to psychotropic medications. PFC structural and functional deficits are recognized features of bipolar pathology and may be related to biological alterations in neurotrophic and cell signaling pathways. Some studies have found that structural deficits worsen with age among bipolar patients to a greater degree than expected in normal aging, but no study has yet combined measures of PFC gray matter size, white matter integrity and organization, resting perfusion, and functional brain response and connectivity in a single investigation of brain changes across the lifespan in bipolar disorder and healthy individuals. Our study is also designed to examine how age-associated brain measures relate to one another and to cognitive performance. We will use a cross-sectional design to study 85 patients with adolescent- or young-adult-onset Bipolar I disorder and 85 healthy individuals ranging in age from 30 to 79 years. Patients will be stably medicated, not experiencing a mood episode or significant mood or psychotic symptoms, and free of other Axis I disorders including current or recent substance abuse or dependence. Participants will be assessed for diagnosis and clinical history, current symptoms, cognitive performance, and brain structure and function as measured by magnetic resonance imaging. PFC gray matter thickness, white matter organization in tracts that connect with the PFC, resting perfusion and functional response of the prefrontal cortex and connected regions during working memory tasks will be measured. Results of this study will help characterize the course of brain pathology in bipolar disorder and enable future longitudinal investigations using the best measures and focusing on the most likely time period for change.

Public Health Relevance

Little is known about how the brains of adults with bipolar disorder may change during aging and whether these changes are different from those seen in healthy aging. We will study the relationship of age to magnetic resonance imaging measures of prefrontal cortex gray matter thickness, white matter organization and integrity, and functional response during cognitive activities among groups of stable bipolar patients and healthy individuals. We will also examine how the brain measures relate to one another and to cognitive ability and examine how other chronicity measures may relate to age differences in the bipolar group. The results of this study will improve our knowledge about how aging influences brain abnormalities in bipolar disorder and may suggest new treatments designed to prevent negative effects and capitalize on any positive changes.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
1R01MH083968-01A2
Application #
7793182
Study Section
Neural Basis of Psychopathology, Addictions and Sleep Disorders Study Section (NPAS)
Program Officer
Evans, Jovier D
Project Start
2009-12-01
Project End
2014-11-30
Budget Start
2009-12-01
Budget End
2010-11-30
Support Year
1
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$318,600
Indirect Cost
Name
Veterans Medical Research Fdn/San Diego
Department
Type
DUNS #
933863508
City
San Diego
State
CA
Country
United States
Zip Code
92161
Yoon, Ho-Kyoung; Dev, Sheena I; Sutherland, Ashley N et al. (2018) Disruptions in resting state functional connectivity in euthymic bipolar patients with insomnia symptoms. Psychiatry Res Neuroimaging 275:1-4
Dev, Sheena I; Eyler, Lisa T (2017) Bipolar Patients with Vascular Risk Display a Steeper Age-Related Negative Slope in Inhibitory Performance but Not Processing Speed: A Preliminary Study. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 25:272-276
Nguyen, Tanya T; Kovacevic, Sanja; Dev, Sheena I et al. (2017) Dynamic functional connectivity in bipolar disorder is associated with executive function and processing speed: A preliminary study. Neuropsychology 31:73-83
Dev, Sheena I; Nguyen, Tanya T; McKenna, Benjamin S et al. (2017) Steeper Slope of Age-Related Changes in White Matter Microstructure and Processing Speed in Bipolar Disorder. Am J Geriatr Psychiatry 25:744-752
Acheson, Dean T; Eyler, Lisa T; Resovsky, Jesse et al. (2015) Fear extinction memory performance in a sample of stable, euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. J Affect Disord 185:230-8
McKenna, Benjamin S; Theilmann, Rebecca J; Sutherland, Ashley N et al. (2015) Fusing Functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging Measures of Brain Function and Structure to Predict Working Memory and Processing Speed Performance among Inter-episode Bipolar Patients. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 21:330-41
Dev, Sheena I; McKenna, Benjamin S; Sutherland, Ashley N et al. (2015) Increased cerebral blood flow associated with better response inhibition in bipolar disorder. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 21:105-15
McKenna, Benjamin S; Drummond, Sean P A; Eyler, Lisa T (2014) Associations between circadian activity rhythms and functional brain abnormalities among euthymic bipolar patients: a preliminary study. J Affect Disord 164:101-6
Kaup, Allison R; Drummond, Sean P A; Eyler, Lisa T (2014) Brain functional correlates of working memory: reduced load-modulated activation and deactivation in aging without hyperactivation or functional reorganization. J Int Neuropsychol Soc 20:945-50
McKenna, Benjamin S; Sutherland, Ashley N; Legenkaya, Anna P et al. (2014) Abnormalities of brain response during encoding into verbal working memory among euthymic patients with bipolar disorder. Bipolar Disord 16:289-99

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