BACKGROUND: How is emotion disrupted in bipolar disorder? Two studies are presented that adopt a multi-method approach to investigate emotion reactivity and emotion recovery in bipolar I disorder. METHODS: Across both studies, individuals with inter-episode bipolar disorder and healthy controls were shown three emotion-eliciting films (neutral, happy, and sad) and experiential and physiological responses were measured. In Study 1, bipolar (BD; n=23) and non-clinical control (NC; n=24) participants' emotional reactivity during film clips was assessed. In Study 2, a separate sample of BD (n=23) and NC (n=25) participants' emotion recovery was assessed after the film clips were assessed. RESULTS: Results indicated that the BD group exhibited increased self-reported positive emotion and respiratory sinus arrhythmia across all films compared to the NC group. There were no group differences in emotion recovery. DISCUSSION: Taken together, these results suggest that bipolar disorder is associated with increased positive emotion reactivity, but not emotion recovery, across contexts.
BACKGROUND: How is emotion disrupted in bipolar disorder? Two studies are presented that adopt a multi-method approach to investigate emotion reactivity and emotion recovery in bipolar I disorder. METHODS: Across both studies, individuals with inter-episode bipolar disorder and healthy controls were shown three emotion-eliciting films (neutral, happy, and sad) and experiential and physiological responses were measured. In Study 1, bipolar (BD; n=23) and non-clinical control (NC; n=24) participants' emotional reactivity during film clips was assessed. In Study 2, a separate sample of BD (n=23) and NC (n=25) participants' emotion recovery was assessed after the film clips were assessed. RESULTS: Results indicated that the BD group exhibited increased self-reported positive emotion and respiratory sinus arrhythmia across all films compared to the NC group. There were no group differences in emotion recovery. DISCUSSION: Taken together, these results suggest that bipolar disorder is associated with increased positive emotion reactivity, but not emotion recovery, across contexts.
Authors: Katrina C Johnson; Patricia A Brennan; Zachary N Stowe; Ellen Leibenluft; D Jeffrey Newport Journal: J Child Psychol Psychiatry Date: 2013-08-28 Impact factor: 8.982