Melissa Lopez-Larson1,2, Janine Terry2, Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, David Kennedy3, Jean Frazier4
1Psychiatry, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 2The Brain Institute, Salt Lake City, UT, USA; 3University of Massachusetts; 4Psychiatry, University of Massachusetts
This study presents whole brain high resolution volumetric and diffusion tensor imaging analysis in a cohort of very-early onset bipolar disorder (BD) compared to healthy controls (HC). Our results showed that youths with very-early onset BD may have reduced integrity in right frontal WM tracts and the body of the corpus callosum indicating impaired intra- and interhemispheric communication. No regional abnormalities in gray matter (GM) were found in youths with early-onset BD. This may indicate that changes in GM volumes are associated with other factors such as illness chronicity or medication use. Additional studies utilizing multiple MR approaches are warranted.