Publication by Dahna Choi on neural risk markers of bipolar disorder

We congratulate Dahna Choi for her new publication in The British Journal of Psychiatry

The multimodal fMRI study Neural correlates of social affect and social cognition as risk markers of bipolar disorder investigates whether social affect and social cognition (empathy and theory of mind) are associated with hypomanic personality traits and may serve as early risk markers for bipolar disorder. In a community sample (n = 140), hypomanic traits were linked to increased theory-of-mind-related neural activity in the anterior rostral medial prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex, despite unchanged behavioral performance.

These findings contribute to a more neurobiologically grounded characterization of bipolar disorder risk, advancing our understanding of mechanisms underlying both risk and resilience.

Choi D, Förster K, Hildebrandt MK, et al. Neural correlates of social affect and social cognition as risk markers of bipolar disorder. The British Journal of Psychiatry. 2026;228(2):126-132. doi:10.1192/bjp.2024.282