Altered baseline brain activity in children with bipolar disorder during mania state: a resting-state study

BACKGROUND: Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have shown abnormal functional connectivity in regions involved in emotion processing and regulation in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). Recent studies indicate, however, that task-dependent neural changes only represent a small fraction of the brain’s total activity. How the brain allocates the majority of its resources at resting state is still unknown. We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) method of fMRI to explore the spontaneous neuronal activity in resting state in PBD patients. METHODS: Eighteen PBD patients during the mania phase and 18 sex-, age- and education-matched healthy subjects were enrolled in this study and all patients underwent fMRI scanning. The ALFF method was used to compare the resting-state spontaneous neuronal activity between groups. Correlation analysis was performed between the ALFF values and Young Mania Rating Scale scores. RESULTS: Compared with healthy controls, PBD patients presented increased ALFF in bilateral caudate and left pallidum as well as decreased ALFF in left precuneus, left superior parietal lobule, and bilateral inferior occipital gyrus. Additionally, ALFF values in left pallidum were positively correlated with Young Mania Rating Scale score in PBD. CONCLUSION: The abnormal resting-state neuronal activities of the basal ganglia, parietal cortex, and occipital cortex may play an important role in the pathophysiology in PBD patients.