Bipolar disorder and emotion processing: New meta-analysis published

A new meta-analysis published in Bipolar Disorders "How do bipolar disease states affect positive and negative emotion processing? Insights from a meta-analysis on the neural fingerprints of emotional processing" examined the neural basis of emotional processing in bipolar disorder. In this study, Katharina Förster, Lara Maliske, Matthias Schurz, Paula Henneberg, Udo Dannlowski, and Philipp Kanske showed that patients with bipolar disorder display altered neural processing of emotional stimuli in regions of the salience network (e.g., insula) and reduced neural activity in regions associated with emotion regulation (e.g., inferior frontal gyrus). On a descriptive level, the authors were also able to show hypoactivation of the anterior insula during the processing of negative emotions in patients in manic disease states. The results are in line with previous research findings that link bipolar disorders to increased emotional reactivity and reduced (cognitive) control, as well as their altered neuronal activity.

You can read the study here.