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Abstract #0122

White Matter Microstructural Changes in Bipolar Disorder: A HARDI CSD Tractography Study

SUMMA25Louise Emsell1, 2, Alexander Leemans3, Wim Van Hecke4, 5, Camilla Langan2, Gareth J. Barker6, Peter McCarthy2, Stefan Sunaert1, Dara Cannon2, Colm McDonald2

1Radiology, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium; 2NUI Galway, Ireland; 3Image Sciences Institute, UMC Utrecht, Netherlands; 4University Hospital Antwerp, Belgium; 5icoMetrix, Belgium; 6Department of Neuroimaging, King's College London,Institute of Psychiatry, United Kingdom


Structural brain changes detected by diffusion tensor tractography have been reported in bipolar disorder. However the investigation of heterogeneous clinical populations and the limitations of the tensor model for tractography have resulted in contradictory findings. We used high angular resolution diffusion imaging and a constrained spherical deconvolution approach to improve tract delineation in crossing-fibre regions. We investigated anatomically defined subdivisions of the corpus callosum, cingulum and fornix in a sample of 35 prospectively confirmed euthymic bipolar 1 disorder patients and 44 healthy controls. We detected widespread reductions in fractional anisotropy and increases in diffusivity measures in patients compared to controls.