Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI of the substantia nigra distinguishes bipolar from unipolar depression

Nov 13, 2023Cerebral cortex (New York, N.Y. : 1991)

Brain scans of a movement-related area may help tell bipolar and unipolar depression apart

AI simplified

Circadian Biology on OpenScience ↗PubMed ↗DOI ↗

Abstract

Neuromelanin-MR imaging revealed a significant volume increase in the substantia nigra of individuals with bipolar disorder type II compared to those with unipolar depression.

Both bipolar disorder type II (BD-II) and unipolar depression (UD) exhibited significantly decreased contrast-to-noise ratio compared to healthy controls.
Individuals with BD-II showed a larger volume in the substantia nigra compared to those with UD.
The area under the curve for distinguishing BD-II from healthy controls was 0.85 for left substantia nigra volume.
The area under the curve for distinguishing UD from healthy controls was 0.76 for left substantia nigra volume.
The area under the curve for differentiating BD-II from UD was 0.73 for right substantia nigra volume.

AI simplified

Depression in bipolar disorder (BD-II) is frequently misdiagnosed as unipolar depression (UD) leading to inappropriate treatment and downstream complications for many bipolar sufferers. In this study, we evaluated whether neuromelanin-MR signal and volume changes in the substantia nigra (SN) can be used as potential biomarkers to differentiate BD-II from UD. The signal intensities and volumes of the SN regions were measured, and contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR) to the decussation of the superior cerebellar peduncles were calculated and compared between healthy controls (HC), BD-II and UD subjects. Results showed that compare to HC, both BD-II and UD subjects had significantly decreased CNR and increased volume on the right and left sides. Moreover, the volume in BD-II group was significantly increased compared to UD group. The area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) for discriminating BD from HC was the largest for the Volume-L (AUC, 0.85; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.77, 0.93). The AUC for discriminating UD from HC was the largest for the Volume-L (AUC, 0.76; 95% CI: 0.65, 0.86). Furthermore, the AUC for discriminating BD from UD was the largest for the Volume-R (AUC, 0.73; 95% CI: 0.62, 0.84). Our findings suggest that neuromelanin-sensitive magnetic resonance imaging techniques can be used to differentiate BD-II from UD.

Full Text

Full text is available at the source.

View full text (PDF) ↗View full text ↗

Neuromelanin-sensitive MRI of the substantia nigra distinguishes bipolar from unipolar depression

Abstract

Full Text

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief

Abstract

Full Text

Related papers

You found one interesting study. We’ll send the next 7.

what lands in your inbox each week:

Recent issues from the circadian biology brief