Michèle Wessa1, Bianca Kollmann2, Julia Linke2, Sandra Schönfelder2, Philipp Kanske3. 1. Department of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany; Section for Experimental Psychopathology and Neuroimaging, Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany. Electronic address: wessa@uni-mainz.de. 2. Department of Clinical Psychology and Neuropsychology, Institute for Psychology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz, Mainz, Germany. 3. Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Department of Social Neuroscience, Leipzig, Germany.
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Heightened impulsivity has been suggested as a possible risk factor for bipolar disorder (BD). However, studies on high-risk populations are scarce and have mainly focused on individuals with a genetic risk. The present study investigated two high-risk samples for BD with regard to several aspects of the impulsivity construct. METHODS: Unaffected relatives of BD patients (genetically defined high-risk group, N=29) and participants scoring high on the Hypomanic Personality Scale (psychometrically defined high-risk sample, N=25) were being compared to respective control groups (N=27 and N=25) using a multi-method approach. Participants were accessed on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11, trait impulsivity), the Stop Signal Task (response inhibition), and the Cambridge Gambling Task (impulsive behavior in decision-making processes). RESULTS: Both high-risk groups reported heightened impulsivity on the BIS-11, as well as impulsive decision-making, whereas no significant group differences in response inhibition were observed. LIMITATIONS: Limitations were the lack in specificity of the results for BD and the cross-sectional study design, which does not allow conclusions about the influence of impulsivity on the development of or resilience for BD in risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the assumption that increased trait impulsivity and impulsive decision-making are a vulnerability marker for and an endophenotype of BD.
BACKGROUND: Heightened impulsivity has been suggested as a possible risk factor for bipolar disorder (BD). However, studies on high-risk populations are scarce and have mainly focused on individuals with a genetic risk. The present study investigated two high-risk samples for BD with regard to several aspects of the impulsivity construct. METHODS: Unaffected relatives of BD patients (genetically defined high-risk group, N=29) and participants scoring high on the Hypomanic Personality Scale (psychometrically defined high-risk sample, N=25) were being compared to respective control groups (N=27 and N=25) using a multi-method approach. Participants were accessed on the Barratt Impulsiveness Scale-11 (BIS-11, trait impulsivity), the Stop Signal Task (response inhibition), and the Cambridge Gambling Task (impulsive behavior in decision-making processes). RESULTS: Both high-risk groups reported heightened impulsivity on the BIS-11, as well as impulsive decision-making, whereas no significant group differences in response inhibition were observed. LIMITATIONS: Limitations were the lack in specificity of the results for BD and the cross-sectional study design, which does not allow conclusions about the influence of impulsivity on the development of or resilience for BD in risk groups. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings support the assumption that increased trait impulsivity and impulsive decision-making are a vulnerability marker for and an endophenotype of BD.
Authors: Tommy H Ng; Jonathan P Stange; Chelsea L Black; Madison K Titone; Rachel B Weiss; Lyn Y Abramson; Lauren B Alloy Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2016-03-15 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Snežana Urošević; Eric A Youngstrom; Paul Collins; Jonathan B Jensen; Monica Luciana Journal: J Affect Disord Date: 2015-11-06 Impact factor: 4.839
Authors: Charles Masaki; Ann L Sharpley; Charlotte M Cooper; Beata R Godlewska; Nisha Singh; Sridhar R Vasudevan; Catherine J Harmer; Grant C Churchill; Trevor Sharp; Robert D Rogers; Philip J Cowen Journal: Psychopharmacology (Berl) Date: 2016-06-02 Impact factor: 4.530
Authors: Andrea Boscutti; Alessandro Pigoni; Giuseppe Delvecchio; Matteo Lazzaretti; Gian Mario Mandolini; Paolo Girardi; Adele Ferro; Michela Sala; Vera Abbiati; Marco Cappucciati; Marcella Bellani; Cinzia Perlini; Maria Gloria Rossetti; Matteo Balestrieri; Giuseppe Damante; Carolina Bonivento; Roberta Rossi; Livio Finos; Alessandro Serretti; Paolo Brambilla Journal: Genes (Basel) Date: 2022-03-09 Impact factor: 4.096