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Published on: March 14, 2025
fMRI evidence of a relationship between hypomania and both increased goal-sensitivity and positive outcome-expectancy
Noreen O'Sullivan1, Remigiusz Szczepanowski, Wael El-Deredy
1School of Psychology, Bangor University, Adeilad Brigantia, Gwynedd, UK. N.Osullivan@liverpool.ac.uk
Background:
Mania is argued to stem from the dysfunctional processing of reward. Investigation of hypomania in healthy samples has the potential to offer refined insight into the particular aspects of reward processing in mania that are dysfunctional.
Method:
In this study, fMRI was employed in contrasting a sample of 12 unmedicated subclinical hypomanic individuals with a sample of 12 unmedicated controls in order to investigate reward-related processing in a reinforcement-learning task.
Results:
Four findings in the hypomania-prone group relative to the control group supported atypical reward processing. Firstly, striatal activation that correlated with reward value and prediction error was stronger in response to cues and outcomes respectively, consistent with hypomania being related to an enhanced perception of the value of goals that may lead to reward. Secondly, value-related medial temporal activation was stronger in response to cues, suggesting that in hypomania-prone individuals, stimuli in memory were represented in accordance with their perceived value. Thirdly, these effects failed to be modulated by the actual value of outcomes, suggesting that hypomania is related to a decreased ability to discriminate between cues differing in value. Fourthly, increased insula activation in response to expected, but absent, reward was consistent with a bias towards expecting positive outcomes in decision-making.
Conclusion:
Together, the findings suggest that enhanced perception and representation of goal-value that nonetheless fails to discriminate on the basis of actual goal-value, coupled with a positive outcome-expectancy bias, could be causally related to insatiable and indiscriminate reward seeking in mania.
Insights
Individuals prone to hypomania exhibit altered reward processing, showing heightened sensitivity to potential rewards but a reduced ability to distinguish actual reward value, potentially driving excessive reward seeking.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Mania is theorized to arise from impaired reward processing.
- Studying hypomania in healthy individuals can illuminate specific reward processing deficits in mania.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate reward processing in individuals with subclinical hypomania.
- To compare brain activity during a reinforcement-learning task between hypomania-prone and control groups.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used.
- 12 unmedicated individuals with subclinical hypomania and 12 unmedicated controls participated.
- Participants completed a reinforcement-learning task.
Main Results:
- Hypomania-prone individuals showed stronger striatal activation related to reward value and prediction error.
- Enhanced medial temporal activation to cues, indicating value-based memory representation.
- Reduced modulation by actual outcome value, suggesting impaired discrimination.
- Increased insula activation to unexpected rewards, indicating positive outcome bias.
Conclusions:
- Hypomania is linked to an amplified perception and representation of goal value, yet with diminished discrimination based on actual value.
- A bias towards expecting positive outcomes may contribute to indiscriminate reward seeking in mania.
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