Project Summary

Lakshmi Yatham, M.B., F.R.C.P.C., MRCPsych (Independent Investigator 2003) of University of British Columbia, will use Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to directly examine whether dopamine hyperactivity is present in mania. Manic symptoms are thought to be due to an increase in the activity of the brain dopamine system, and this increased dopamine transmission may be due to: an increase in dopamine synthesis, an increase in D2 receptors, or a decrease in the dopamine transporter with an increase in dopamine levels in the synaptic space. In previous work, Dr. Yatham found that non-psychiatric manic patients do not have an increase in the rate of dopamine synthesis or dopamine D2 receptors compared with controls; however treatment with valproate led to a decrease in the rate of dopamine synthesis, suggesting that non-psychiatric mania may be associated with increased dopamine transmission and that the abnormality could lie at the dopamine transporter level. Dr. Yatham will now examine the dopamine D2 transporter in drug free, non-psychotic manic patients in comparison to healthy controls. Dr. Yatham will also obtain an estimate of synaptic dopamine levels. Findings from these studies may provide the precise location of an abnormality of the dopamine system in manic patients and result in the development of new treatments.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar

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