An observational study in Bipolar Disorder, Major Depression and Migraine, sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). Recruiting at 1 site in United States. Open to participants aged 8 Years to 70 Years, including healthy volunteers. Per ClinicalTrials.gov, last updated 2026-10-07.
Sponsored by National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) · Observational
Background:
Mood disorders, such as bipolar disorder, can have serious effects on a person s life. People with bipolar disorder are more likely to have heart disease and abuse substances. In this natural history study, researchers would like to learn more about the connection between exercise and mental health in people with and without mood disorders.
Objective:
To better understand relationships among physical activity, sleep, and mental health.
Eligibility:
People aged 8 to 60 years with a history of a mood disorder. Healthy spouses and relatives with no mood disorders are also needed.
Design:
Participants will be in the study up to 2 years.
For up to 20 days in a row, at 4 times during the study, participants will:
Complete an electronic diary on their smartphone. Participants will answer questions about their mood, health, sleep, and daily activities.
Wear an activity monitor, like a wristwatch, that records how much they move.
Wear a light sensor, as a necklace, to record the amount of light in their environment.
Some participants will do additional tests. Twice during the study, for 3 days in a row, they will:
Wear monitors to record their temperature, heart rate, and sleep.
Provide saliva samples.
Complete cognitive tasks on their smartphone.
Participants will visit the NIH clinic 2 times. They will have a physical exam, with blood and urine tests. They will wear a heart monitor. They will ride a stationary bike for 30 minutes. They may have an imaging scan.
Some participants will stay overnight. They will go to sleep wearing a cap to measure their brain activity.
Study Description:
The overarching goal of this study is to investigate potential mechanisms underlying the association between motor activity and mood states and disorders. In a previous study using real-time tracking of objectively assessed motor activity and subjectively rated mood states with ecological momentary assessments (EMA), we found a unidirectional association between motor activity and mood that was especially notable among adults with bipolar I (BPI) disorder. The proposed study seeks to replicate these findings, and more extensively characterize the associations between motor activity and mood states by expanding the assessments of individual, physiologic, cognitive, and environmental correlates. This study will employ an intensive longitudinal design with combined ecological and laboratory assessments in the NIH Clinical Center in a sample of 280 probands with a lifetime history of bipolar I (BPI) disorder, bipolar II (BPII) disorder, major depressive disorder (MDD), or no lifetime history of a mood disorder. The study will also include up to 700 first-degree relatives (280 siblings and 420 offspring) and 280 spouses of the probands. A subset of the probands and relatives will participate in an outpatient and/or inpatient component. The overarching hypothesis is that increases in motor activity, especially exercise, are associated with improvements in mood states. These findings will have implications for interventions in both the general community and clinical samples of people with mood disorders.
Objectives: The study has four specific aims:
Endpoints:
Primary Endpoints:
Secondary Endpoints:
Tertiary Endpoints:
Potential correlates of the association between motor activity and mood states including individual factors (e.g., age, sex, comorbidity, medical history), physiologic factors (e.g., heart rate, cortisol, light sensitivity), cognitive factors (e.g., performance on cognitive and neuroimaging tasks), and environmental factors (e.g., light, season, temperature).
1,683 studies on the registry are indexed under Bipolar Disorder; 266 are open to participants now.
This study's planned enrollment of 1,260 is above the median of 159 across 348 observational studies indexed under Bipolar Disorder.
Browse Bipolar Disorder studies →National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) is the lead sponsor of 367 studies on the registry; 45 are open to participants now.
Of its 25 completed or terminated interventional studies of FDA-regulated products, 24 (96%) have results posted.
Counted across the registry records on this site, refreshed daily.
The sample will be recruited from several sources including: (1) our NIMH Family Study of Affective Spectrum Disorders; (2) ongoing clinical studies at NIH; and (3) volunteers from both clinical and community settings including the INOVA-Fairfax Health System, Medstar and the Johns Hopkins Health systems.
Go through the criteria one by one — yes, no or not sure — and take the list to your doctor or the study team. Kept in this browser only.
To be eligible to participate in this study, an individual must meet all of the following criteria:
EXCLUSION CRITERIA:
The presence of certain medical conditions may interfere with the interpretation or increase risk of medical complications of the assessments including exercise. Therefore, an individual who meets any of the following criteria will be excluded from participation in this study:
Underlined terms in the criteria open these too. Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Informed consent
Before you join, the study team explains what taking part involves — its purpose, what happens, the risks and possible benefits — and answers your questions, so you can decide freely. Consent is usually recorded on a form (the informed consent form, ICF) signed by you or, where the law allows, by someone legally authorised to decide for you.
You can keep asking questions during the study, you are told of new information that matters, and you can choose to leave at any time.
Explained by clinicaltrials.gg, not part of the registry record. The study team decides who can take part.
Community cohort of families
Scores on standardized questionnaires
Using standardized scales
Time frame: Every 6 months
Subjective mood and energy ratings
Using EMA
Time frame: 4x daily
Clinical rating scales
Using standardized scales
Time frame: Every 6 months
Continuous heart rate measurements, blood pressure
Using standardized measures
Time frame: Before and after exercise
Subjective mood and energy rating
Using EMA
Time frame: Before and after exercise
Clinical rating scales
Using standardized scales
Time frame: Before and after exercise
Plan to share: Undecided — Our intention is to share aggregated data.
Started Nov 2023 (actual). Primary completion is estimated for Jul 2027, 44 months after the start.
Of 95 non-industry observational studies under Bipolar Disorder, half reached primary completion within 65 months of starting (the median), counting those still running; a quarter within 39 and three quarters within 119. This study's planned 44 months is below that.
Counting every sponsor, half of 105 studies reached it within 64 months; a quarter within 31 and three quarters within 118.
How these figures are worked out, and which studies are left out of them.
From the registry record's own update history. This site started tracking changes on Sep 25, 2026; for anything earlier, see the record history on ClinicalTrials.gov ↗
Eligibility is decided by the study team. Share this record with your doctor or contact the team directly.
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National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) →