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Advances in functional magnetic resonance imaging research on bipolar disorder and self-stigma

Longyuan Zhang1 ,  Chengji Wang2 ,  Xiaoxiao Tang2 ,  Yingshuai Li2 ,  Shaohong Zou2*
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1 Graduate School of Xinjiang Medical University, Xinjiang Medical University, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
2 Department of Clinical Psychology, People’s Hospital of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, Urumqi, Xinjiang, China
JCBP, 8413 https://doi.org/10.36922/jcbp.8413
Submitted: 5 January 2025 | Revised: 22 February 2025 | Accepted: 25 March 2025 | Published: 14 April 2025
© 2025 by the Author(s). This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License ( https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ )
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Abstract

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic, recurrent, and severe mental illness. Individuals with BD often internalize prejudices and stereotypes directed toward them, leading to the development of self-stigma (SS). SS can further exacerbate impairments in cognitive and social functioning and contribute to decreased treatment adherence and poor prognosis. Functional magnetic resonance imaging provides a powerful tool for investigating the neuropathophysiological mechanisms underlying BD and SS, facilitating the early identification of SS in BD patients. A review of studies examining functional connectivity and neurometabolism across various brain regions in BD and SS patients suggests that both conditions can alter the functional connectivity of brain regions involved in emotional regulation, such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and amygdala. In addition, BD patients show reduced N-acetylaspartate levels in the PFC and anterior cingulate cortex. However, current research has yet to yield conclusive findings regarding the neurometabolites associated with SS. This paper proposes potential research directions for investigating SS in BD patients and lays the groundwork for the early detection of SS, ultimately contributing to a deeper clinical understanding of SS in this patient population.

Keywords
Bipolar disorder
Self-stigma
Functional magnetic resonance imaging
Blood oxygen level-dependent functional magnetic resonance imaging
Magnetic resonance spectroscopy
Funding
Natural Science Foundation of Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region (2022D01C606); Tianshan Innovative Team Program (2022D14011).
Conflict of interest
Shaohong Zou is an Editorial Board Member of this journal and Guest Editor of this special issue but was not in any way involved in the editorial and peer-review process conducted for this paper, directly or indirectly. Separately, other authors declared that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have influenced the work reported in this paper.
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