New Findings in the Relationship Between Pre-Frontal Cortex and Bipolar Disorder

Abstract

In the article, some recent studies are discussed, that show the close relationship between pre-frontal cortex and the neurophysiology of bipolar disorder. The most frequent findings in imagiologic studies are hyperintensities in subcortical and periventricular white matter. In the pre-frontal cortex, at the subregional level, there is a loss of grey matter volume, and loss or atrophy of glial cells. One of the areas that is more affected is the subgenual area. Functional studies find less pre-frontal activation in specific tasks. Other studies relate some of the changes to medication. There is a great variability in results, which can be explained by factors such as variability in patients or in methods of research.