Biochemical markers of mood: a proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study of normal human brain

Background: Elevated brain Cho has been shown within the basal ganglia and frontal (i.e., orbitofrontal and cingulate) cortices in patients with mood disorders utilizing Proton Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy (1H-MRS). We sought to determine the relationship between Cho and mood in a cohort of healthy young subjects. Methods: Twenty-seven subjects without neurologic or psychiatric disorders were evaluated with the Positive and Negative Affect Scale and underwent 1H-MRS of bilateral frontal and occipito-parietal white matter. Results: We found that Cho in the left frontal lobe was inversely correlated with Positive Affect [F(1,24) = 19.2, p< .001, r2 = .45]. Conclusions: Our results highlight the important involvement of Cho underlying the integration of affective processing within prefrontal circuitry, and may indicate increased myelin turnover in subjects with lower Positive Affect. Further efforts will be necessary to determine if high Cho is associated with increased incidence of mood disorders throughout life.