title: From inhibition to activation, from emotional hyporeactivity to emotional hyperreactivity: two pathways to discriminate mood in bipolar disorders.
abstract: To better explore the clinical heterogeneity of bipolar mood states, we developed a dimensional scale for assessing all mood episodes (depressive, hypomanic, manic, mixed states) using the same tool. The Multidimensional Assessment of Thymic States (MATHYS) (Henry et al., 2008) provides two scores, a total score measuring a level of activation and a sub-score of emotional reactivity. The aim of this study was to establish the appropriate cut-off in total activation versus inhibition and in the emotional reactivity sub-score in bipolar disorders. Patients (n=187) during an acute episode and controls (n=89) filled in the MATHYS. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curves were obtained to estimate the sensitivity and specificity of the global score and the emotional reactivity sub-score of the MATHYS, in order to differentiate patients from controls. ROC curves showed very satisfactory sensitivity and specificity levels both for the total score and the sub-score of emotional reactivity, thus providing an appropriate cut-off. Concerning the total score between 0 and 200, patients with a score lower than 91 had significant global inhibition and those with a score higher than 109 had significant global activation. Regarding the emotional reactivity sub-score between 0 and 40, patients with a score lower than 16 had significant emotional hyporeactivity and those with a score higher than 24 had significant emotional hyperreactivity. Our results provide cut-offs for the MATHYS to identify patients in an acute phase.
authors.affiliation: Psychology Laboratory, EA4139, Université Bordeaux Segalen, 3ter place de la Victoire, Bordeaux, France.
authors.forename: Thierry
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Atzeni
authors.forename: Chantal
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.forename: Isabelle
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Minois
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gard
authors.forename: Alain
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Desage
authors.forename: Léa
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zanouy
authors.forename: Katia
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: M'bailara
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000523:psychology*; D004192:Discrimination, Psychological; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D012372:ROC Curve