Decoding Emotional Dynamics in Bipolar Disorder

Recruiting now · Not applicable

Conditions studied: Bipolar Disorder I or II, Healthy (Controls)

In brief

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.

Key facts

Study ID

NCT07221864

Run by

Laureate Institute for Brain Research, Inc.

People needed

72

Starts

2025-10-30

Expected to finish

2028-11-01

Last updated by the study team

2026-04-17

Who can join

Age: 18 and older, up to 65. Sex: any. Healthy volunteers: accepted.

You may qualify if…

• 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)

You may not qualify if…

• 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
• 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
• Taking drugs that affect the fMRI hemodynamic response (e.g., methylphenidate, acetazolamide, excessive caffeine intake > 1000 mg/day)
• MRI contraindications as documented on the MR Environment Screening
• Unwillingness or inability to complete any of the major aspects of the study protocol, including magnetic resonance imaging (i.e., due to claustrophobia), or behavioral assessment. However, failing to complete some individual aspects of these assessment sessions will be acceptable (i.e., being unwilling to answer individual items on some questionnaires or being unwilling to complete a behavioral task)
• Non-correctable vision or hearing problems

Where it is running

• Laureate Institute for Brain Research — Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States (enrolling)

Full record on ClinicalTrials.gov

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