Decoding Emotional Dynamics Driving Mood Instability in Bipolar Disorder
Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Inc.
Summary
The goal of this neuroimaging study is to investigate how emotional states fluctuate in people with bipolar disorder (BD) compared to healthy controls, and to understand the neural mechanisms driving mood instability. The main questions it aims to answer are: * Can emotional states be decoded from fMRI brain activity using machine learning? * Do individuals with BD show more unstable emotional state trajectories (e.g., high metastability, low fractal scaling) than healthy controls? * Does amplifying positive emotions stabilize brain and emotional dynamics in BD? Researchers will compare individuals with bipolar disorder (BD-I or BD-II, currently depressed or mixed state) to healthy controls without psychiatric history to see whether the BD group shows greater fluctuations in emotional brain activity and whether positive emotion regulation strategies normalize this instability. Participants will: * Complete self-report questionnaires on mood, emotion regulation, anxiety, and daily functioning. * Recall and provide short descriptions of personal positive and negative memories to be used in the MRI task. * Undergo fMRI scanning, including: * Resting-state scans * A Think and Regulate Affective States Task (TReAT) where they recall autobiographical memories, rate emotions, and practice amplifying positive mood. * Structural and diffusion MRI for brain mapping. * Receive physiological monitoring (heart rate, respiration) during scanning. * Complete post-scan surveys on emotional state and task experience. This research will help clarify how the brain supports or disrupts emotional regulation in bipolar disorder and may inform the development of personalized, neurobiologically informed treatments for mood instability.
Description
This neuroimaging study investigates the neural mechanisms underlying emotional dynamics and mood instability in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). Bipolar disorder is characterized by rapid and intense mood fluctuations, yet the neurobiological basis of these transitions, how the brain shifts between emotional states in real time, remains poorly understood. The study aims to identify the moment-to-moment brain processes that drive emotional lability and to explore whether positive emotion amplification can stabilize emotional and neural states in BD. Study Design This is a study conduc…
Eligibility
- Age range
- 18–65 years
- Sex
- All
- Healthy volunteers
- Yes
Inclusion Criteria 1. Age 18 to 65 years 2. Male or female 3. BMI between 18.5 and 38.0 kg/m2 at Screening 4. Capable of understanding and complying with study requirements 5. Fluent in English 6. Able to provide informed consent BD Group: 7. Meet the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for BD-I or BD-II who are currently depressed or mixed state defined by the Mini-International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) 8. Moderate or greater depressive symptom severity (MADRS ≥ 15 or PHQ-9 ≥ 10) HC Group: 9. No current or past psychiatric disorder (verified by MINI) Exclusion Criteria 1. No telepho…
Interventions
- BehavioralThink and Regulate Affective State Task
Participants complete the Think and Regulate Affective States Task (TReAT) during fMRI scanning. This task presents brief cues of participants' own autobiographical memories, four positive and four negative, to evoke corresponding emotional states. While viewing these cues, participants alternate between thinking about the memory, rating emotional valence and arousal, and practicing positive emotion amplification strategies. Each session includes multiple blocks of "Think," "Rate," "Regulate," "Attention," and "Rest" periods. Physiological measures (heart rate and respiration) are recorded concurrently. The task is designed to decode emotional states from fMRI data and evaluate the neural impact of positive emotion regulation in bipolar disorder compared to healthy controls.
Location
- Laureate Institute for Brain ResearchTulsa, Oklahoma