Project Summary

Mani N. Pavuluri M.D., Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2006) of the University of Illinois, Chicago, plans to use fMRI to determine if differences can be seen in the brains of children with bipolar disorder compared to healthy controls when they are engaged in emotionally charged vs. uncharged thinking. Connections between emotional and cognitive circuitries are critical for optimal social and academic functioning. Given that affect dysregulation and cognitive impairment occur in pediatric bipolar disorder, the link between the neuronal systems may also be impaired. For his study, Dr. Pavuluri will recruit 20 unmedicated children with bipolar disorder between 12 and 18 years and the same number of healthy controls. Subjects will perform a series of cognitive tasks with and without emotional components, and he will assess the effects in different regions of the brain. He hypothesizes that pediatric bipolar patients performing cognitive tasks with emotional stimuli will show heightened activity in the amygdala and the orbito frontal cortex and decreased activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex compared to healthy individuals.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar

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