Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Email this article to a Colleague Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to My Articles & Searches Download to citation manager Citing Articles via Google Scholar Articles by Berns, G. S. Articles by Proper, S. M. Search for Related Content PubMed Citation Articles by Berns, G. S. Articles by Proper, S. M. Bipolar Disorder PET

Limbic Hyperreactivity in Bipolar II Disorder

OBJECTIVE: The authors’ goal was to determine whether patients with bipolar II disorder had altered regional brain responses to novel motor sequences. METHOD: Regional cerebral blood flow was measured with positron emission tomography in 13 patients with bipolar II disorder and 14 healthy comparison subjects. Participants performed a serial reaction time task in which they were visually cued to press one of four buttons at a time. The order of button presses was determined by a complex sequence that was changed in the latter half of the study. RESULTS: In the comparison subjects a spatial attention circuit in the superior parietal lobe and supplementary motor area was activated in response to the introduction of the new sequence. Patients did not display this activation pattern; instead, a widespread limbic network was activated in response to the new sequence. CONCLUSIONS: The attentional resources of patients with bipolar II disorder are not reallocated when they are confronted with a nonemotional motor task; rather, their performance is altered through activation of limbic circuitry.

Get information about faster international access.

Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2002 American Psychiatric Association. All rights reserved.

Home | Search | Current Issue | Past Issues | Subscribe | All APPI Journals | Help | Contact Us