Mood Fluctuations and Pleasure Response in Bipolar Disorder

Momentary mood changes can significantly heighten the brain's response to pleasure in people with bipolar disorder. This 'mood bias' can lead to a vicious cycle of risk-taking due to mood escalations. The findings from brain scans suggest interventions to decouple mood from perception and decisions are being explored.

Momentary mood changes could significantly heighten the brain's response to pleasure in people with bipolar disorder, new research has found.

People with this condition, marked by extreme mood and energy level shifts, are more susceptible to 'mood bias' — where a good mood can make them perceive experiences more favorably, said Liam Mason, co-lead author of the study from University College London's Psychology and Language Sciences.

The study, published in Biological Psychiatry Global Open Science, involved brain scans of 21 participants with bipolar disorder and 21 without, while playing a computerised Roulette game. The scans showed heightened activity in brain regions associated with pleasure and mood changes in those with bipolar disorder.

Researchers noted that individuals with bipolar disorder exhibited weaker communication between the anterior insula and the striatum, leading to increased 'mood bias' and risk-taking behavior. Co-lead author Hestia Moningka suggested the findings could pave the way for new interventions to help decouple mood from perception and decision-making in bipolar disorder patients.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)