Disrupted Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Nonmedicated Bipolar Disorder

Purpose: To investigate the whole-brain intrinsic functional connectivity patterns of patients with bipolar disorder (BD). Materials and Methods: This prospective study was approved by the research ethics committee, and all participants provided informed consent. Thirty-seven patients with nonmedicated BD II depression and 37 healthy control participants underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance (MR) imaging. Whole-brain connectivity was analyzed by using a graph theory approach: functional connectivity strength (FCS). Clinical state was assessed by using the 24-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale and the Young Mania Rating Scale. Two-sample t test and nonparametric correlation analysis were used. Results: Compared with healthy control participants, patients with BD II showed decreased FCS in the default mode network (ie, the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral middle temporal gyrus, left precuneus, and right posterior cingulate cortex), right supramarginal gyrus and angular gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus, and right superior parietal gyrus and increased FCS in the bilateral temporal pole (including the parahippocampal gyrus and amygdale), left anterior cingulate cortex, left superior temporal gyrus, right lingual gyrus, and left anterior lobe of the cerebellum (P<.05; AlphaSim corrected). Conclusion: These results suggest that patients with BD have disrupted intrinsic functional connectivity mainly in the default mode network and limbic system, which might be associated with the pathophysiologic structure of BD.