Self Focus in Bipolar Disorder: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Study

Negative rumination, a specific form of self-focus, characterized by repetitively focusing on one's symptoms of distress, and the possible causes and consequences of these symptoms, is a hallmark of depression. Nearly a decade of research has culminated in evidence that the tendency to engage in negative rumination is highly correlated with depressive symptoms. Rumination also plays a critical role in the etiology and maintenance of depressed states and predicts risk for mania in bipolar disorder. Despite the central role of rumination in major depression and bipolar disorder, there have been few studies to date investigating the functional neuroanatomy of negative rumination, and no studies of positive rumination. The few neuroimaging studies that have utilized measures of the tendency to engage in negative rumination have focused on brain functioning when performing tasks that involve processing emotional or self-referential stimuli, but they have not studied resting state activity or functional activity during negative and positive rumination. We are examining both resting state activity and functional activity during negative and positive rumination and during self-processing to study the relationship between the neural correlates of rumination/self-focus and self-processing in major depression and bipolar disorder.

Inclusion criteria

Healthy Controls:

• Right-handed (as determined by the Handedness Inventory; Oldfield, 1971)
• Normal or corrected-to normal vision and hearing

Exclusion criteria

for Healthy Controls:

• Any current or past psychiatric history
• Significant medical, psychiatric or neurological illness
• Currently taking antidepressants, mood stabilizers, or benzodiazepines
• Positive MR screen (e.g., metal implant, claustrophobia, etc)

Inclusion criteria

for Patients with Major Depression:

• Current diagnosis of MDD
• Right-handed (as determined by the Handedness Inventory; Oldfield, 1971)
• Normal or corrected-to normal vision and hearing

Exclusion criteria

for MDD Patients:

• If a history of substance abuse, at least 6 months in remission
• Current suicidal ideation or history of suicide attempts
• Positive MR screen (e.g., metal implant, claustrophobia, etc)

Inclusion criteria

for patients with BPAD:

• Current diagnosis of BPAD
• Right-handed (as determined by the Handedness Inventory; Oldfield, 1971)
• Normal or corrected-to normal vision and hearing

Exclusion criteria

for BPAD Patients:

• If a history of substance abuse, at least 6 months in remission
• Current suicidal ideation or history of suicide attempts
• Positive MR screen (e.g., metal implant, claustrophobia, etc)