# Neuromodulation for Enhancement of Emotion Regulation in Bipolar Mood Disorders

> **NIH NIH K23** · MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL · 2021 · $199,281

## Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT
 Individuals with bipolar mood disorders (BD) experience severe and episodic emotion dysregulation. Our
existing pharmacological and psychosocial treatments fail to normalize emotion dysregulation for many bipolar
patients. We need new and innovative approaches to help improve emotion dysregulation for these patients.
The long-term goal of this proposal is to understand the pathophysiology of emotion dysregulation in BD, and
to develop strategies to directly target and improve emotion regulation capacity. To this end, the candidate
proposes: (1) training objectives to acquire expertise in advanced network-based analysis of neuroimaging data
and training in the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) as a translational clinical and research tool;
(2) a research objective to identify patient-specific biomarkers of emotion dysregulation in BD and to
experimentally engage these targets using TMS; (3) a team of mentors and advisors to ensure the candidate’s
success, with expertise in bipolar disorder pathology and treatment (Dr. Andrew Nierenberg), advanced
network analysis of neuroimaging data (Dr. Randy Buckner), clinical and research applications of TMS (Dr.
Mark George and Dr. Joan Camprodon), neuromodulation of mood disorders (Dr. Darin Dougherty), emotion
regulation (Dr. James Gross), task-based neuroimaging in BD (Dr. Thilo Deckersbach), and advanced
statistical methods (Dr. Mark Vangel). The central hypothesis of the research proposal is that neuromodulation
of patient-specific targets of emotion regulation-related neurocircuitry using TMS will enhance the capacity for
emotion regulation in BD. The rationale for this proposal is that existing treatments don’t adequately address
severe emotion dysregulation in BD, thus new innovative approaches are needed. This project has the potential
to provide preliminary evidence for the future development of TMS as an innovative treatment strategy that
can be used adjunctive to existing treatments to improve emotion regulation in BD. Specific aims proposed are:
1) to identify patient-specific pathophysiological markers of implicit and explicit emotion dysregulation in BD;
2) to determine the effect of TMS on emotion regulation circuit dynamics in BD; and 3) to determine the effect
of TMS on emotion regulation behavioral responses in BD. The approach is innovative in that it uses a patient-
specific, precision medicine approach with combined TMS-fMRI to target and probe emotion dysregulation at
the level of neurocircuitry. The proposed research is significant, because it is has the potential to advance our
understanding of the pathophysiology of emotion dysregulation in BD and will provide crucial pilot data
towards testing the efficacy of TMS for improving emotion dysregulation in BD patients. Overall, the candidate
will use this project and its associated training to transition and expand this work into an independent program
of research developing neuroscience-informed in...

## Key facts

- **NIH application ID:** 10140425
- **Project number:** 5K23MH120348-02
- **Recipient organization:** MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL
- **Principal Investigator:** Kristen K Ellard
- **Activity code:** K23 (R01, R21, SBIR, etc.)
- **Funding institute:** NIH
- **Fiscal year:** 2021
- **Award amount:** $199,281
- **Award type:** 5
- **Project period:** 2020-05-01 → 2025-04-30

## Primary source

NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/10140425

## Citation

> US National Institutes of Health, RePORTER application 10140425, Neuromodulation for Enhancement of Emotion Regulation in Bipolar Mood Disorders (5K23MH120348-02). Retrieved via AI Analytics 2026-05-24 from https://api.ai-analytics.org/grant/nih/10140425. Licensed CC0.

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