Markers of neuroinflammation influence measures of cortical thickness in bipolar depression.

We tested if peripheral levels of cytokines and chemokines associate to grey matter volumes, cortical thickness and fMRI neural responses to a moral valence decision task in bipolar patients. ICAM1 and CCL4 negatively correlated with cortical thickness in Inferior Temporal Gyrus, and sCD25 in Parahippocampal Gyrus. TNF-α, Interleukine-8, and CCL2 correlated positively with cortical thickness in the Anterior Cingulate Cortex, and with lower BOLD responses to negative stimuli. Markers of immune activation are associated with measures of brain structural and functional integrity in bipolar depression.