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.
Who can participate
Age range18 Years – 65 Years
SexALL
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Inclusion criteria
✓. Age 18 to 65 years
✓. Male or female
✓. BMI between 18.5 and 38.0 kg/m2 at Screening
✓. Capable of understanding and complying with study requirements
✓. Fluent in English
✓. Able to provide informed consent
✓. 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)
✓. Moderate or greater depressive symptom severity (MADRS ≥ 15 or PHQ-9 ≥ 10)
Exclusion criteria
✕. No telephone or easy access to a telephone
✕. Significant medical problems as identified by the medical screening questionnaire: e.g. a history of unstable liver or renal insufficiency; glaucoma; significant and unstable cardiac, vascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, endocrine, neurologic, hematologic, rheumatologic, or metabolic disturbance; or any other condition that, in the opinion of the investigator, would make participation not be in the best interest (e.g., compromise the well-being) of the participant or that could prevent, limit, or confound the protocol-specified assessments
What they're measuring
1
Decoded Emotional State Trajectory
Timeframe: Day 2
2
Metastability of brain network states
Timeframe: Day 2
Trial details
NCT IDNCT07221864
SponsorLaureate Institute for Brain Research, Inc.
✕. A positive test for drugs of abuse, including alcohol (breath test), cocaine, opiates, amphetamines, methamphetamines, phencyclidine, benzodiazepines, barbiturates, methadone, and oxycodone
✕. Drug or alcohol intoxication (based on positive UTOX or breathalyzer test at screening or study session) or reported alcohol/drug withdrawal, last cannabis use must be \>48 hours prior to study session.
✕. Current DSM-5 diagnosis of a psychosis spectrum disorder or moderate to severe substance use disorder
✕. Moderate to severe traumatic brain injury or other neurocognitive disorder with evidence of neurological deficits, neurological disorders, or severe or unstable medical conditions that might be compromised by participation in the study (to be determined by primary care provider)
✕. Current significant suicidal ideation or suicide attempt within the past 3 months.
✕. Change in the dose or prescription of a medication within the 6 weeks before enrolling in the study that could affect brain functioning, e.g., anxiolytics, antipsychotics, antidepressants, or mood stabilizers