BDII-D patients show altered white matter integrity linked to inflammation, psychiatric symptoms, and childhood maltreatment, particularly emotional maltreatment.
Authors
Yuan Cao, Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany; Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany
Paulo Lizano, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Division of Translational Neuroscience, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, United States
Meng Li, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany; Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
Lejla Colic, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
Tara Chand, Jindal Institute of Behavioural Sciences, O. P. Jindal Global University (Sonipat), Sonipat, India; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Department of Clinical Psychology, Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Jena, Germany;
Nooshin Javaheripour, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany
Huan Sun, Department of Psychiatry, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Gaoju Deng, Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Xiaoqin Zhou, Department of Clinical Research Management, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Xipeng Long, Department of Radiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, China
Qiyong Gong, Department of Radiology, West China Xiamen Hospital of Sichuan University, Xiamen, China; Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Changjian Qiu, Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Martin Walter, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Jena, Germany; Center for Intervention and Research on adaptive and maladaptive brain Circuits underlying mental health (C-I-R-C), Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany; Clinical Affective Neuroimaging Laboratory (CANLAB), Magdeburg, Germany; German Center for Mental Health (DZPG) partner site Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Halle-Jena-Magdeburg, Germany
Zhiyun Jia, Department of Nuclear Medicine, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China; Department of Radiology and Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Functional and Molecular Imaging Key Laboratory of Sichuan Province, West China Hospital, Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
Summary
Childhood maltreatment has long-term effects on brain structure, inflammation and psychiatric symptoms, yet its impact on white matter (WM) integrity in bipolar disorder type II depression (BDII-D) remains understudied. Here, we investigate WM alterations in BDII-D and their associations with childhood maltreatment, inflammation and psychiatric symptoms. Using TractSeg, we analyzed WM integrity in 146 patients with BDII-D and 151 healthy controls, identifying significantly lower fractional anisotropy (FA) in the corpus callosum, left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and right striato-fronto-orbital tract, alongside higher FA in sensory-motor regions. WM alterations were correlated with inflammatory markers and psychiatric symptoms. Non-negative matrix factorization and clustering analysis revealed two BDII-D subgroups, with one subgroup showing lower corpus callosum FA, higher inflammatory markers, greater childhood emotional maltreatment and psychiatric symptoms. These findings suggest deficits in WM integrity in thalamo-subcortical-cortical and somatosensory areas in BDII-D. Childhood emotional maltreatment may contribute to long-term effects on inflammation and psychiatric symptoms in adulthood BDII-D.
Published in: Nature Mental Health
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