Motor imagery in bipolar depression with slowed movement

• Published in: The journal of nervous and mental disease Vol. 201; no. 10; p. 885
• Main Authors: Liberg, Benny, Adler, Mats, Jonsson, Tomas, Landén, Mikael, Rahm, Christoffer, Wahlund, Lars-Olof, Wiberg-Kristoffersen, Maria, Wahlund, Björn
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States 01.10.2013
• Subjects: Adult; Aged; Bipolar Disorder - complications; Bipolar Disorder - physiopathology; Cerebrum - physiology; Cerebrum - physiopathology; Female; Functional Neuroimaging - instrumentation; Functional Neuroimaging - methods; Gyrus Cinguli - physiology; Gyrus Cinguli - physiopathology; Humans; Limbic System - physiology; Limbic System - physiopathology; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - instrumentation; Magnetic Resonance Imaging - methods; Male; Middle Aged; Motor Cortex - physiology; Motor Cortex - physiopathology; Movement - physiology; Movement Disorders - diagnosis; Movement Disorders - etiology; Movement Disorders - physiopathology; Parietal Lobe - physiology; Parietal Lobe - physiopathology; Prefrontal Cortex - physiology; Prefrontal Cortex - physiopathology
• ISSN: 1539-736X
• DOI: 10.1097/NMD.0b013e3182a5c2a7

We hypothesized that motor retardation in bipolar depression is mediated by disruption of the pre-executive stages of motor production. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural activity during motor imagery and motor execution to elucidate whether brain regions that mediate planning, preparation, and control of movement are activated differently in subjects with bipolar depression (n = 9) compared with healthy controls (n = 12). We found significant between-group differences. During motor imagery, the patients activated the posterior medial parietal cortex, the posterior cingulate cortex, the premotor cortex, the prefrontal cortex, and the frontal poles more than the controls did. Activation in the brain areas involved in motor selection, planning, and preparation was altered. In addition, limbic and prefrontal regions associated with self-reference and the default mode network were altered during motor imagery in bipolar depression with motor retardation.