Decoding Emotional Dynamics Driving Mood Instability in Bipolar Disorder

Status: Recruiting
Location: See location...
Intervention Type: Behavioral
Study Type: Interventional
Study Phase: Not Applicable
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.

Eligibility
Participation Requirements
Sex: All
Minimum Age: 18
Maximum Age: 65
Healthy Volunteers: t
View:

• 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

• BD Group:

• 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)

• HC Group:

• No current or past psychiatric disorder (verified by MINI)

Locations
United States
Oklahoma
Laureate Institute for Brain Research
RECRUITING
Tulsa
Contact Information
Primary
Masaya Misaki Study Primary Investigator, Ph.D.
mmisaki@laureateinstitute.org
918-502-5137
Time Frame
Start Date: 2025-11
Estimated Completion Date: 2028-11
Participants
Target number of participants: 72
Treatments
Experimental: Decoding Emotional Dynamics
All participants complete the same two-session protocol: a preparation visit with diagnostic interviews and questionnaires, followed by an MRI session including resting-state and task-based scans. During the Think and Regulate Affective States Task (TReAT), participants recall personal positive and negative memories, rate their emotions, and practice positive emotion amplification strategies. Physiological signals are recorded throughout. Both individuals with bipolar disorder and healthy controls complete identical procedures for comparison of brain and emotional dynamics.
Related Therapeutic Areas
Sponsors
Leads: Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Inc.
Collaborators: National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS), National Institutes of Health (NIH)

This content was sourced from clinicaltrials.gov