Initial evidence for sex-specific effects of early emotional abuse on affective processing in bipolar disorder.
OBJECTIVE
This study investigates the effect of sex and childhood trauma on affective processing in bipolar disorder (BPD) patients.


METHODS
In a sample of fifty-six BPD patients, we administered the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire (CTQ), and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) and the Affective Go/No-Go (AGNG) to measure affective processing. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was used to evaluate the effect of sex and childhood trauma on IGT; Repeated-Measures ANOVAs to measure accuracy and bias measures across conditions on the AGNG.


RESULTS
In the context of childhood abuse, females evidenced a more conservative cognitive style than males by selecting fewer cards from the disadvantageous decks [F(1, 49)=14.218; P<0.001] and showed an improvement throughout the task, as noted in a normal learning curve [F(1.49)=4.385; P=0.041)]. For the AGNG, an interaction specific to the negative valence stimuli on response bias measures was found. Abused females scored higher (mean=8.38; SD=6.39) than abused males (mean=0.69; SD=1.19) [F(1.46)=6.348; P=0.015].


CONCLUSIONS
Severity of childhood trauma was significantly different between sexes. In the context of a history of emotional abuse, male bipolar patients tended toward a more risk-taking behavior compared to female. Further investigations are needed to elucidate potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying this interaction.
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1, Gustave-L-Levy-Place, Box 1230, 10029 New York, USA. Electronic address: manuela.russo@mssm.edu.
M
M
Russo
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1, Gustave-L-Levy-Place, Box 1230, 10029 New York, USA.
R
R
Proujansky
The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Department of Psychiatry Research, Glen Oaks, 1, Gustave-L Levy-Place, Box 1230, 10029 New York, USA.
A
A
Gilbert
The Zucker Hillside Hospital, North Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System, Department of Psychiatry Research, Glen Oaks, 1, Gustave-L Levy-Place, Box 1230, 10029 New York, USA.
R J
RJ
Braga
Department of Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, 1, Gustave-L-Levy-Place, Box 1230, 10029 New York, USA.
K E
KE
Burdick
D000328:Adult; D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D002648:Child; D002649:Child Abuse / Q000523:psychology*; D003657:Decision Making / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012201:Reward; D012309:Risk-Taking; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D012737:Sex Factors
Affective Go/No-Go; Affective processing; Bipolar disorder; Childhood trauma; Iowa Gambling Test