Dopamine and Mood in Psychotic Disorders

Is dopamine synthesis capacity altered in the presence of mood symptoms in individuals with a psychotic disorder, and is there an association with positive psychotic symptoms across affective syndromes?In this cross-sectional study among individuals with psychosis, decreased striatal dopamine synthesis capacity was observed in depression episodes compared with mixed/mania syndromes, most notably in the limbic striatum. Across affective syndromes, an association was observed between positive psychotic symptoms and dopamine synthesis capacity, most pronounced in the associative striatum.Dopamine function differed across psychotic disorders when different mood states were present, particularly in the limbic striatum, and, transdiagnostically, positive psychotic symptoms were associated with dopamine synthesis capacity in the associative striatum; these findings have relevance for understanding the etiology of psychosis and therapeutic agents for people with comorbid affective syndromes and psychotic disorders.

Corresponding Author: Sameer Jauhar, PhD, Division of Psychiatry, Imperial College London, Du Cane Road, Commonwealth Bldg, Second Floor, London W12 0NN, United Kingdom (sameer.jauhar@imperial.ac.uk).

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