Brain Imaging in Affective Disorders PDF

Preface

Over the past two decades, the methods for in vivo brain imaging investigations have advanced substantially. Newer and more sophisticated tools for anatomical, chemical, and functional in vivo studies of the human brain have become available and have increasingly been applied to the study of brain mechanisms involved in major neuropsychiatric disorders.

Affective disorders are a major group of psychiatric illnesses that are very common in clinical practice and pose a considerable burden to patients, their families, and society in general. Despite the enormous importance of these major health problems, their causation remains largely unknown. There has been substantial interest in attempting to elucidate the brain mechanisms involved in these disorders. In recent years, some of the newly developed brain imaging methodologies have been applied to investigations on the brain mechanisms involved in these disorders and the mechanisms of action of available treatments. As the causation of these major psychiatric disorders remains largely unknown, there is considerable hope that this newer generation of studies will substantially contribute to major advances linked to developments in the fields of genetics, pharmacology, and neurosciences.

The applications of brain imaging methods to study affective disorders have initially involved anatomical computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies. Subsequently, single photon emission tomography (SPECT) and positron emission tomography (PET) began to examine possible abnormalities in brain blood flow and metabolism. More recent investigations with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have contributed to higher-resolution studies of brain networks possibly involved in the pathophysiology of these disorders. Developments in chemical imaging with SPECT and PET radiotracer studies as well as magnetic resonance spectroscopy have allowed unprecedented in vivo neurochemical investigations of the human brain. The emerging findings from available studies suggest anatomical, functional, and chemical abnormalities in cortical and subcortical brain regions and in related neuroanatomic circuits possibly involved in mood regulation. This important new area of investigation in neuropsychiatry has been growing rapidly over the past few years.

The application of newly available methods from brain imaging to the study of affective disorders holds substantial promise to elucidate the brain mechanisms implicated in these illnesses. The latest advances in this important new area of research have not yet been reviewed in a comprehensive book providing complete and easily accessible information on the latest developments. This new volume includes chapters from leading authorities in the field and fills an important gap in the neuropsychiatric literature. It will be an invaluable resource for practitioners in the fields of psychiatry, neurology, primary care medicine, and related mental health professions, as well as researchers, graduate and postgraduate trainees, and students. The book is a source of the latest information on new developments in brain imaging applied to the study of brain mechanisms involved in causation of affective disorders and the mechanisms of action of available treatments.