Brain imaging of impulse control in bipolar disorder and major depression
Compares brain activity during inhibition tasks in adults with bipolar disorder or depression.
Key facts
- Who runs it
- CHU de Reims
- Where
- Reims, FranceSee the site
- Trial code
- Registry title
- Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study of Inhibitory Control in Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder
- Status
- Not yet recruiting
- People taking part
- 120 people, planned
- Started
- Jun 2026
- Expected to end
- Dec 2029
- Type of study
- Interventional, 4 groupsOne group gets an existing treatment, for comparison.
- Treatments tested
- Analysis of inhibitory control
- Record updated
- 31 March 2026
Who can take part
AI summary
From the trial's eligibility criteria. Machine-read from the registry text on this page, so it can be wrong. The registry text below and the trial team decide who can take part.
The trial is looking for adults with bipolar disorder or depression, and also healthy volunteers, for a brain imaging (MRI) study of self-control.
- Age
- 18 to 65 years old
- Sex
- Men and women can join.
- Disease stage
- A diagnosis of bipolar disorder or depressive disorder. The record does not give a stage.
- Earlier treatment
- Patients must have had no substantial change in treatment for 2 weeks before joining.
Main reasons for not taking part
- Alcohol or other substance use disorder in the last six months (tobacco is allowed)
- A significant general medical illness, including neurological disorders or head injury
- Cannot have an MRI scan
- Uncorrected vision or hearing problem
- Healthy volunteers: a diagnosis of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or major depression, or a close relative with one of them
The registry criteria, word for word
Show all 21 criteriaShow less
Who can take part
- Patients between 18 and 65 years old, men or women, right-handed
- Having a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or depressive disorder
- No substantial change in treatment for 2 weeks preceding study enrollment
- Being a native French speaker
- Patients enrolled in the national healthcare insurance program
- Consenting to participate to the study
- Participants between 18 and 65 years old, men or women, right-handed
- Being a native French speaker
- Patients enrolled in the national healthcare insurance program
- Consenting to participate to the study
Who cannot take part
- The presence of any alcohol use disorder or any other substance use disorder in the last six months, except for tobacco dependence
- A significant general medical illness, including neurological disorders or head trauma
- A sensorial impairment uncorrected (visual and/or hearing); Group 3 and 4: Healthy control participants
- A diagnosis of schizophrenia or of bipolar disorder or of major depressive disorder according to DSM-5 criteria
- The presence of any alcohol use disorder or any other substance use disorder in the last six months, except for tobacco dependence
- Participants having one first-degree relative presenting an bipolar disorder or depressive disorder or schizophrenia according to DSM-5 criteria
- A significant general medical illness, including neurological disorders or head trauma
- A sensorial impairment uncorrected (visual and/or hearing)
- Contraindication to the use of MRI
- Contraindication to the use of MRI
Other criteria
- Group 1 and 2: Bipolar patients, Depressive patients
Check if you might fit
Answer for yourself. This is not a decision: only the study team can say whether you can take part.
- Are you between 18 and 65 years old?
Where in France
- CHU ReimsReims, FranceContact: Martina TRAYKOVANo longer taking part
About the trial
What the trial wants to find out
Bipolar disorder and unipolar depressive disorder are two chronic mood disorders associated with a significant social impact, even during euthymic phases. Their differential diagnosis remains complex, particularly when bipolar disorder begins with a depressive episode. Identifying distinctive markers between these pathologies therefore represents a major clinical and economic challenge, as appropriate mood-stabilizing treatment can reduce healthcare costs and improve patients' functional outcomes.
Read full original descriptionShow less
Among potential biomarkers, executive functions-and more specifically inhibition-have received particular attention. Inhibitory deficits are observed in both disorders, including during euthymic states, and also among first-degree relatives, suggesting their potential as cognitive and cerebral endophenotypes. These deficits may help explain the difficulties in emotion regulation and impulsivity frequently observed in mood disorders.
Two components of inhibition are distinguished:
1. Behavioral inhibition, which refers to the ability to stop an ongoing response. 2. Interference control, which refers to the ability to resist distraction. These processes rely on partially distinct neural networks and operate at different stages of information processing. The few studies comparing these two components in bipolar disorder have shown contradictory results, and neuroimaging investigations have only partially explored these mechanisms, particularly their emotional dimension. It is, however, well established that patients with bipolar or depressive disorders show greater difficulties in executive tasks involving emotional stimuli than in purely cognitive tasks.
The study is expected to reveal:
* Differences in brain activation between euthymic bipolar and unipolar depressive patients in regions involved in inhibitory control, modulated by the emotional content of the task. * Distinct cognitive performance profiles according to pathology, reflecting specific alterations in inhibitory and interference processes.
These findings should provide a better understanding of the differential neurocognitive bases of mood disorders. Identifying specific cognitive and neural profiles could contribute to more accurate differential diagnosis and to the personalization of therapeutic interventions, particularly through cognitive remediation strategies targeting executive and emotional deficits.
The 4 groups in the trial
- Group 1: Bipolar patientsTreatment being tested
Patients with a diagnosis of bipolar disorder
Treatment: Analysis of inhibitory control
- Group 2: Major depressive patientsTreatment being tested
Patients with a diagnosis of major depressive disorder
Treatment: Analysis of inhibitory control
- Group 3: Bipolar controlsExisting treatment, for comparison
Healthy control participants matched to group 1
Treatment: Analysis of inhibitory control
- Group 4: Depressive controlsExisting treatment, for comparison
Healthy control participants matched to group 2
Treatment: Analysis of inhibitory control
Questions to ask the study team
- How often do I need to come in, and for how long each time?
- Are travel costs paid?
- Can I keep my own doctor?
- What happens if I want to stop?
Contact the study team: see the registry record → Contacts and Locations
Print a page for my doctorData and sources
- Registry record
- Listed on ClinicalTrials.gov.
- Official title
- Neurofunctional Characterization of Inhibitory Control in Bipolar Disorder and Major Depressive Disorder
- Plain-language title
- Brain imaging of impulse control in bipolar disorder and major depressionGenerated from the registry record. The registry title is the official one.
- AI summary
- From the trial's eligibility criteria. Read by machine on 13 November 2026.
- Fit questions
- Built from NCT07503275, who can take part
- Record updated
- 31 March 2026