Forty subjects with bipolar disorder who are not receiving a mood-stabilizing medication for the treatment of their illness will participate in this study. The study aims to evaluate how decision-making is affected by treatment for bipolar disorder. Prior to beginning treatment, patients will complete questionnaires and a one-hour computer-administered assessment of decision-making. Differences between pre-post decision-making outcomes will be evaluated to examine whether the neuroeconomic concepts of risk aversion, loss aversion, risk tolerance and delay discounting are affected by treatment. The overall goal of this study will be to identify whether decision-making in people with bipolar disorder is affected by treatment. Specifically the investigators will compare decision-making characteristics among bipolar patients prior to treatment with how these decision-making characteristics change over the course of 6 weeks of standard medication therapy for bipolar disorder. A total of 6 decision-making tasks and one control task will be administered via computer to eligible subjects. The investigators will evaluate decision-making under varying conditions of reward, risk, and uncertainty and over time. The investigators hypothesize that decision-making will improve across these assessments after 6 weeks of treatment.
Participation in this study will require three study visits over 6 weeks. Subjects will be evaluated with the Structured Diagnostic Interview for DSM-IV to confirm diagnosis. They will also be administered the Hamilton Anxiety and Depression Rating Scales. Eligible subjects will then complete questionnaires related to their symptoms as well as decision-making and risk-taking, including: the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, the Spielberger State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, and the Flinders Decision-making questionnaire. The Montgomery-Asburg Depression Severity scale to assess changes in depression symptom severity and the Young Mania Rating Scale to assess changes in manic symptom severity, will be conducted at screening, baseline, and endpoint. Patients will also be given the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire at baseline visit, to assess for a history of childhood trauma. The subjects will then complete the computer-generated decision-making tasks. Upon completion, the study physician will initiate standard-of-care treatment with a mood stabilizer (either lithium, valproate, or lamotrigine). Standard-of-care laboratory testing and psychiatric follow-up will be performed during the patient's study participation. After six weeks of treatment with a mood stabilizer, patients will again complete the decision-making computerized assessment.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
OTHER
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
37
Open label treatment per standard of care for bipolar disorder for six weeks.
Open label treatment per standard of care for bipolar disorder for six weeks.
Open label treatment per standard of care for bipolar disorder for six weeks.
Emory University Mood and Anxiety Disorders Program
Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Change in Vigilance Assessed by the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)
The MDMQ is a 22-item self report form assessing four different styles of decision making. Vigilance is considered the healthy, adaptive, decision-making style, reflecting consideration of an array of outcomes and ultimately rational decision-making. Scores range from 0-12. A higher score indicates that vigilance is used more frequently during decision making. A higher score indicates healthier decision making.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6
Change in Hypervigilance Assessed by the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)
The MDMQ is a 22-item self report form assessing four different styles of decision making. Hypervigilance is marked by hurried, anxious decision-making. Scores range from 0-10. A higher score indicates a "worse" score and that a hyper-vigilant decision making style is used more frequently.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6
Change in Buckpassing Assessed by the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)
The MDMQ is a 22-item self report form assessing four different styles of decision making. The buckpassing decision-making style represents a tendency to leave decisions to others. Scores range from 0-12. A higher score indicates that the buckpassing decision-making style is used more frequently and represents a "worse" score.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6
Change in Procrastination Assessed by the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire (MDMQ)
The MDMQ is a 22-item self report form assessing four different styles of decision making. The procrastination decision-making style involves putting off making decisions. Scores range from 0-10. A higher score indicates that the procrastination decision-making style is used more and is considered a "worse" score.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6
Mean Difference in Barratt Impulsiveness Scale, Version 11 (BIS-11) Score
The BIS-11 is a 30 item self-report questionnaire, used to assess three factors of impulsivity: 1). attentional impulsiveness, reflecting a difficulty concentrating or tolerating cognitive complexity, 2). motor impulsiveness, reflecting a tendency to act before thinking, and 3). non-planing impulsiveness, reflecting a lack of forethought about potential consequences. Items are scored on a 4-point scale: Rarely/Never = 1 Occasionally = 2 Often = 3 Almost Always/Always = 4. Attentional impulsivity scores range from 8-32. Motor impulsivity scores range from 11-44. Non-planning impulsivity scores range from 11-44. Total BIS-11 scores range from 30-120. A higher score reflects higher impulsivity across all sub-types.
Time frame: Baseline, Week 6
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