Mood changes in people with bipolar disorder can be detected by changes in electrical impulses in the skin, which can be measured using a bracelet.
- Bipolar disorder is a mental illness that causes chronic fluctuations in a person’s mood, energy, activity levels, and concentration.
- Researchers have discovered that electrical impulses in the skin may be associated with mood changes in bipolar disorder. They would also be measurable using a bracelet equipped with sensors.
- If the results are confirmed with larger research, it could facilitate the management and care of people suffering from bipolarity.
Bipolar disorder is marked by intense mood fluctuations. Patients alternate between manic and depressive episodes. The unpredictability of the occurrence of these phases complicates the care of patients. But Barcelona psychiatrists have made a discovery that could make it much easier: electrical impulses in the skin change during mood swings, and they can be measured by a bracelet equipped with a sensor.
Bipolarity: skin electrical activity changes depending on the phases
The researcher and psychiatrist Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei from the Clinical and Provincial Hospital of Barcelona detailed the first discoveries of his work during the 36e congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology held from October 7 to 10, 2023.
His team asked 38 patients with bipolar disorder and 19 healthy individuals to wear a bracelet – called Empatica E4 – for 48 hours that could measure electrical impulses in the skin as well as other physiological biomarkers like body temperature.
With a Scottish data expert, the researchers analyzed the data collected by these commercially available devices. During the professional meeting, the scientist explained: “We found that patients with bipolar disorder in their depressive phase had on average significantly lower skin electrical activity than the rest of the bipolar group or the healthy control group. We also found that when moving from manic to depressive states (or vice versa), this was detectable by a change in the electrical activity of the skin’s surface.”
Thus, according to the first elements gathered by scientists, the bracelet which measures the emotional state of its wearer could help to predict the manic and depressive phases of people suffering from bipolar disorders.
Predictable mood swings: this could make treatment easier
Managing to detect the phases bipolar patients go through is essential. “It is important for the patient and doctor to know how and when these mood fluctuations occur. It is also important to emphasize that treatment is different for manic or depressive states. This can help with rapid diagnosis and early personalized treatment, but it can also help prevent unwanted outcomes, for example by alerting to an increased risk of suicide or mood swings that can lead to dangers with activities such as driving. It is also easier to treat patients if we know if they are in a manic phase or in a depressive phase”explains Dr. Diego Hidalgo-Mazzei.
“We hope that the additional information these systems can provide will give us greater certainty in treating patients”can we read in the communicated repeating the comments made by the expert during his intervention.
However, the scientists caution that their observational study requires further research. Among other things, they must test the bracelet with a larger sample and use artificial intelligence to analyze all the biomarkers collected by the device. They hope to precisely determine the patterns that could indicate a specific episode of bipolarity.
