Decreased anterior cingulate activation in a motor task in youths with bipolar disorder

Background Bipolar disorder (BP) is characterized by abnormal shifts in mood between episodes of mania and severe depression, both of which have been linked with psychomotor disturbances. This study compares brain activation patterns in motor networks between euthymic youths with BP and healthy controls (HC) during the completion of a simple motor task. Methods Thirty‐five youths with BP and 35 HC (aged 10–19) completed a self‐paced sequential bilateral finger‐tapping task, consisting of a 4‐minute scan block with alternating 20‐second periods of either the tapping task (six blocks) or rest (six blocks), while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. Clinical and behavioral symptoms were assessed using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL). A between‐group whole‐brain analysis compared activation pattern differences while controlling for effects of age and sex. Clusters meeting whole‐brain false discovery rate (FDR) correction (qFDR