Bipolar disorder is a heritable disorder characterized by mood dysregulation associated with brain functional dysconnectivity. Previous research has focused on the detection of risk- and disease-associated dysconnectivity in individuals with bipolar disorder and their first-degree relatives. The present study seeks to identify adaptive brain connectivity features associated with resilience, defined here as avoidance of illness or delayed illness onset in unaffected siblings of patients with bipolar disorder.

Graph theoretical methods were used to examine global and regional brain network topology in head-motion-corrected resting-state functional MRI data acquired from 78 patients with bipolar disorder, 64 unaffected siblings, and 41 healthy volunteers.

Global network properties were preserved in patients and their siblings while both groups showed reductions in the cohesiveness of the sensorimotor network. In the patient group, these sensorimotor network abnormalities were coupled with reduced integration of core default mode network regions in the ventromedial cortex and hippocampus. Conversely, integration of the default mode network was increased in the sibling group compared with both the patient group and the healthy volunteer group.

The authors found that trait-related vulnerability to bipolar disorder was associated with reduced resting-state cohesiveness of the sensorimotor network in patients with bipolar disorder. However, integration of the default mode network emerged as a key feature differentiating disease expression and resilience between the patients and their siblings. This is indicative of the presence of neural mechanisms that may promote resilience, or at least delay illness onset.

双相情感障碍是一种遗传性疾病，其特征是与脑功能失调相关的情绪失调。先前的研究集中在双相情感障碍患者及其一级亲属中与风险和疾病相关的不连通性的检测上。本研究旨在确定与适应力相关的适应性大脑连通性功能，此处定义为在双相情感障碍患者的未患病兄弟姐妹中避免疾病或延缓疾病发作。

使用图论方法从78位双相情感障碍患者，64位未受影响的兄弟姐妹和41位健康志愿者获得的经头部运动校正的静息状态功能MRI数据中检查了全局和区域性大脑网络拓扑。

病人及其兄弟姐妹的整体网络特性得以保留，而两组均显示感觉运动网络的内聚力降低。在患者组中，这些感觉运动网络异常与腹侧皮质和海马中的核心默认模式网络区域的整合减少有关。相反，与患者组和健康志愿者组相比，同级组中默认模式网络的集成增加了。

作者发现，与躁郁症有关的特质相关脆弱性与躁郁症患者感觉运动网络的静息状态凝聚力降低有关。但是，默认模式网络的集成已成为区分患者及其兄弟姐妹之间疾病表达和适应能力的关键特征。这表明存在神经机制，可以促进复原力，或至少延迟疾病发作。