Magnetic resonance spectroscopy imaging of lactate in patients with bipolar disorder

Although brain lactate levels are typically low and difficult to measure, a few previous investigators have reported that brain lactate levels are elevated in patients with bipolar disorder. The present study investigated the distribution of lactate in bipolar and healthy brains using 2D proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging on a 4-Tesla magnetic resonance imaging system. Ratios of the concentration of lactate to N-acetylaspartate, and of lactate to total creatine, were significantly higher in bipolar than in healthy subjects. Lactate signals were primarily localized to the bipolar subjects' caudate and anterior cingulate cortices, components of the frontal–subcortical circuit, suggesting that affective dysregulation may be related to metabolic abnormalities in this network.