The investigators are conducting this research study to better understand how individuals with bipolar disorder regulate their emotions, and if the study can use a technique called "transcranial magnetic stimulation" or TMS to help improve emotion regulation for individuals with bipolar disorder.
Emotion dysregulation contributes to the development and maintenance of a wide range of psychopathology, but is especially relevant for individuals with bipolar mood disorders (BD). These individuals experience severe and episodic emotion dysregulation associated with maladaptive functioning, interpersonal problems, decreased work productivity, and suicidal ideation and behavior. To date, both pharmacological and psychosocial treatments fail to normalize emotion dysregulation for many bipolar patients. As a consequence, all too many experience poor outcomes. Thus, there is a significant need for new innovative approaches to target and improve emotion dysregulation in bipolar patients. Non-invasive neuromodulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) may provide a viable strategy to help improve emotion dysregulation in bipolar mood disorders. As a first step to test this hypothesis, the current proposal seeks to experimentally identify specific neural target sites for improving emotion regulation using TMS. If the investigators can demonstrate target engagement of emotion regulation at the behavioral level using TMS, this will provide an important first step towards examining the potential utility of TMS as a viable strategy to help improve emotion dysregulation in bipolar mood disorders. While this is not a definitive clinical trial, the sham-controlled double-crossover design of this study will provide valuable information for target site selection for the development of TMS as an intervention strategy to improve emotion dysregulation in BD.
Study Type
INTERVENTIONAL
Allocation
NA
Purpose
HEALTH_SERVICES_RESEARCH
Masking
NONE
Enrollment
19
Non-Invasive neuromodulation
Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging
Charlestown, Massachusetts, United States
Affective Multisource Interference Task - Reaction Time During Negative Interference Trials
The Affective Multisource Interference Task is a behavioral task measuring the ability to identify an oddball number when overlayed on affective images as a proxy for emotion regulation. Outcome Measure 1: Slope of reaction time during trials with negative valenced stimuli where the oddball number is other than zero and in a location incongruent with the location on the button box
Time frame: Task administered 10 minutes pre TMS and 5 minutes post TMS
Affective Multisource Interference Task - Reaction Time During Positive Interference Trials
The Affective Multisource Interference Task is a behavioral task measuring the ability to identify an oddball number when overlayed on affective images as a proxy for emotion regulation. Outcome Measure 2: Slope of reaction time during trials with positive valenced stimuli where the oddball number is other than zero and in a location incongruent with the location on the button box
Time frame: Task administered 10 minutes pre TMS and 5 minutes post TMS
Emotion Conflict Resolution Task - Incongruent Fear Trials Reaction Time
The Emotion Conflict Resolution Task is a behavioral task requiring correct identification of an emotion word overlayed on photographs of facial expressions of emotion. Outcome measure 3: Slope of reaction time during trials when the image is of a fearful facial expression but the word is "Happy" (incongruent)
Time frame: Task administered 10 minutes pre TMS and 5 minutes post TMS
Emotion Conflict Resolution Task - Incongruent Happy Trials Reaction Time
The Emotion Conflict Resolution Task is a behavioral task requiring correct identification of an emotion word overlayed on photographs of facial expressions of emotion. Outcome measure 4: Slope of reaction time during trials when the image is of a happy facial expression but the word is "Fear" (incongruent)
Time frame: Task administered 10 minutes pre TMS and 5 minutes post TMS
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