Neuroimaging, III: Changes in Neural Activity During a Problem-solving Task
mood instability
Analyses of neural activation during the problem-solving task were conducted with 16 subjects in the FFT-HR group and 20 in the EC group with useable data for this task. At the pre-treatment scan, results from a whole brain voxel-wise analysis, with family-wise error correction for multiple comparisons at the cluster level, showed that imagining and solving family problems were associated with enhanced activity in medial frontal, lateral frontal, and cingulate cortices, regions that play a key role in processes of introspection, emotion regulation, and conflict resolution. In a whole brain voxel-wise analysis comparing pre- to post-treatment changes in activation while participants viewed statements of family problems, the FFT-HR group, but not the EC group, showed treatment-related increases in activation in bilateral caudate/thalamus (Max Z = 3.92, Notably, these results were associated with viewing and solving family problems but not viewing or solving non-familial problems. Covarying for age or sites balanced with medication exposures did not change these results. Thus, observed neural changes were specific to salient family-related stimuli and corresponded with improvements in mood instability.