Amygdala neural responses in depression and bipolar disorder
Research type
Research Study
Full title
Evaluation of Amygdala neural responses as a putative distinctive biomarker for bipolar disorder vs. unipolar depression (BUD study: Bipolar vs. Unipolar Depression)
IRAS ID
124621
Contact name
Danilo Arnone
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
King's College London
Research summary
This study aims to identify distinctive biological markers for the emotional changes typical of conditions like depression and bipolar disorder (affective disorders). Identifying biological characteristics of a medical condition generally leads to better treatment and clinical outcomes. In depression and bipolar disorder clinical outcomes are far from optimal as only approximately 50% of patients respond to medication or psychological treatments. This may be related to our limited understanding of the biological changes underpinning complex brain conditions. In our previous work by using brain scans (magnetic resonance imaging) we have identified that a brain region called the amygdala is not functioning correctly in depression when non-treated participants show characteristic signs and symptoms of a depressive episode. This suggests that abnormalities in this region may be expression of a ‘disease’ state because following a course of treatment with a conventional antidepressant (citalopram), the large majority of our participants improved and at the same time their brain abnormalities also improved. The question which remains unanswered is whether these measured abnormalities are specific to depression or if they also occur in patients with similar depressive symptoms but who have bipolar disorder. In this research we propose to recruit unmedicated patients with unipolar depression and bipolar disorder to measure how these abnormalities differ between these two conditions. Findings from this study could help us understand how we can best improve treatment in the future.
REC name
London - Bromley Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
13/LO/0904
Date of REC Opinion
27 Jun 2013
REC opinion
Favourable Opinion