Increased Amygdala Activation During Mania: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

• Published in: The American journal of psychiatry Vol. 162; no. 6; pp. 1211 - 1213
• Main Authors: Altshuler, Lori, Bookheimer, Susan, Proenza, Manuel A., Townsend, Jennifer, Sabb, Fred, Firestine, Ann, Bartzokis, George, Mintz, Jim, Mazziotta, John, Cohen, Mark S.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Washington, DC American Psychiatric Publishing 01-06-2005; American Psychiatric Association
• Subjects: Adult; Adult and adolescent clinical studies; Affect - physiology; Amygdala - physiopathology; Biological and medical sciences; Bipolar Disorder - physiopathology; Brain Mapping; Brain research; Emotions - physiology; Facial Expression; Female; Frontal Lobe - physiopathology; Functional Laterality - physiology; Health risk assessment; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - statistics & numerical data; Male; Mania; Manic depression; Medical sciences; Mood disorders; Neural Pathways - physiopathology; Neurons; Neuropsychological Tests; NMR; Nuclear magnetic resonance; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Reaction Time - physiology; Visual Perception - physiology; Mood disorder; Human; Orbitofrontal cortex; Hemispheric specialization; Amygdala; Central nervous system; Bipolar disorder; Cognition; Basal ganglion; Emotion emotionality; Experimental study; Metabolism; Nuclear magnetic resonance imaging; Encephalon; Symptomatology; Mania; Medical imagery; Face; Laterality; Neuropsychologia; Comparative study; Facial expression; Functional imaging
• ISSN: 0002-953X; 1535-7228
• DOI: 10.1176/appi.ajp.162.6.1211

OBJECTIVE: This study sought to investigate neural activity in the amygdala during episodes of mania. METHOD: Nine manic subjects and nine healthy comparison subjects underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while performing a neuropsychological paradigm known to activate the amygdala. Subjects viewed faces displaying affect (experimental task) and geometric forms (control task) and matched them to one of two simultaneously presented similar images. RESULTS: Manic subjects had significantly increased activation in the left amygdala and reduced bilateral activation in the lateral orbitofrontal cortex relative to the comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS: Increased activation in the amygdala and decreased activation in the orbitofrontal cortex may represent disruption of a specific neuroanatomic circuit involved in mania. These brain regions may be implicated in disorders involving regulation of affect.