Cognitive performance and psychosocial functioning in patients with bipolar disorder, unaffected siblings, and healthy controls

Objective:: To assess cognitive performance and psychosocial functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), in unaffected siblings, and in healthy controls. Methods:: Subjects were patients with BD (n=36), unaffected siblings (n=35), and healthy controls (n=44). Psychosocial functioning was accessed using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST). A sub-group of patients with BD (n=21), unaffected siblings (n=14), and healthy controls (n=22) also underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests: California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Stroop Color and Word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance or the chi-square test; multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine differences in neuropsychological variables. Results:: Patients with BD showed higher FAST total scores (23.90±11.35) than healthy controls (5.86±5.47; p < 0.001) and siblings (12.60±11.83; p 0.001). Siblings and healthy controls also showed statistically significant differences in FAST total scores (p = 0.008). Patients performed worse than healthy controls on all CVLT sub-tests (p < 0.030) and in the number of correctly completed categories on WCST (p = 0.030). Siblings did not differ from healthy controls in cognitive tests. Conclusion:: Unaffected siblings of patients with BD may show poorer functional performance compared to healthy controls. FAST scores may contribute to the development of markers of vulnerability and endophenotypic traits in at-risk populations

Structural and Functional Brain Correlates of Cognitive Impairment in Euthymic Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Introduction Cognitive impairment in the euthymic phase is a well-established finding in bipolar disorder. However, its brain structural and/or functional correlates are uncertain. Methods Thirty-three euthymic bipolar patients with preserved memory and executive function and 28 euthymic bipolar patients with significant memory and/or executive impairment, as defined using two test batteries, the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), plus 28 healthy controls underwent structural MRI using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Twenty-seven of the cognitively preserved patients, 23 of the cognitively impaired patients and 28 controls also underwent fMRI during performance of the n-back working memory task. Results No clusters of grey or white matter volume difference were found between the two patient groups. During n-back performance, the cognitively impaired patients showed hypoactiva- tion compared to the cognitively preserved patients in a circumscribed region in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Both patient groups showed failure of de-activation in the medial frontal cortex compared to the healthy controls. Conclusions Cognitive impairment in euthymic bipolar patients appears from this study to be unrelated to structural brain abnormality, but there was some evidence for an association with altered prefrontal function

Are bipolar II patients cognitively impaired? A systematic review

BACKGROUND: There is evidence that bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with significant neurocognitive deficits and this occurs in individuals with BD type I (BD I) and with BD type II (BD II). Only a few studies have focused on cognitive impairment in BD II. The aim of this study was to describe the pattern of cognitive impairment in patients with BD II, in order to identify specific cognitive deficits that distinguish BD II from BD I patients as well as from healthy subjects. METHOD: We performed a systematic review of the literature of neuropsychological studies of BD II published between 1980 and July 2009. Fourteen articles fulfilled the inclusion criteria and were included in this review. RESULTS: Main cognitive deficits found in BD II include working memory and some measures of executive functions (inhibitory control) and approximately half of the studies also detected verbal memory impairment. CONCLUSIONS: There are subtle differences between the two subtypes regarding cognition. This may suggest neurobiological differences between the two subgroups which will be helpful in order to determine cognitive endophenotypes in BD subtypes

Cognitive performance and psychosocial functioning in patients with bipolar disorder, unaffected siblings, and healthy controls

Objective:: To assess cognitive performance and psychosocial functioning in patients with bipolar disorder (BD), in unaffected siblings, and in healthy controls. Methods:: Subjects were patients with BD (n=36), unaffected siblings (n=35), and healthy controls (n=44). Psychosocial functioning was accessed using the Functioning Assessment Short Test (FAST). A sub-group of patients with BD (n=21), unaffected siblings (n=14), and healthy controls (n=22) also underwent a battery of neuropsychological tests: California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT), Stroop Color and Word Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST). Clinical and sociodemographic characteristics were analyzed using one-way analysis of variance or the chi-square test; multivariate analysis of covariance was used to examine differences in neuropsychological variables. Results:: Patients with BD showed higher FAST total scores (23.90±11.35) than healthy controls (5.86±5.47; p < 0.001) and siblings (12.60±11.83; p 0.001). Siblings and healthy controls also showed statistically significant differences in FAST total scores (p = 0.008). Patients performed worse than healthy controls on all CVLT sub-tests (p < 0.030) and in the number of correctly completed categories on WCST (p = 0.030). Siblings did not differ from healthy controls in cognitive tests. Conclusion:: Unaffected siblings of patients with BD may show poorer functional performance compared to healthy controls. FAST scores may contribute to the development of markers of vulnerability and endophenotypic traits in at-risk populations

Structural and Functional Brain Correlates of Cognitive Impairment in Euthymic Patients with Bipolar Disorder

Introduction Cognitive impairment in the euthymic phase is a well-established finding in bipolar disorder. However, its brain structural and/or functional correlates are uncertain. Methods Thirty-three euthymic bipolar patients with preserved memory and executive function and 28 euthymic bipolar patients with significant memory and/or executive impairment, as defined using two test batteries, the Rivermead Behavioural Memory Test (RBMT) and the Behavioural Assessment of the Dysexecutive Syndrome (BADS), plus 28 healthy controls underwent structural MRI using voxel-based morphometry (VBM). Twenty-seven of the cognitively preserved patients, 23 of the cognitively impaired patients and 28 controls also underwent fMRI during performance of the n-back working memory task. Results No clusters of grey or white matter volume difference were found between the two patient groups. During n-back performance, the cognitively impaired patients showed hypoactiva- tion compared to the cognitively preserved patients in a circumscribed region in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Both patient groups showed failure of de-activation in the medial frontal cortex compared to the healthy controls. Conclusions Cognitive impairment in euthymic bipolar patients appears from this study to be unrelated to structural brain abnormality, but there was some evidence for an association with altered prefrontal function

Intelligence, educational attainment, and brain structure in those at familial high-risk for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder Hum Brain Mapp

First-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with schizophrenia (SZ-FDRs) show similar patterns of brain abnormalities and cognitive alterations to patients, albeit with smaller effect sizes. First-degree relatives of patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BD-FDRs) show divergent patterns; on average, intracranial volume is larger compared to controls, and findings on cognitive alterations in BD-FDRs are inconsistent. Here, we performed a meta-analysis of global and regional brain measures (cortical and subcortical), current IQ, and educational attainment in 5,795 individuals (1,103 SZ-FDRs, 867 BD-FDRs, 2,190 controls, 942 schizophrenia patients, 693 bipolar patients) from 36 schizophrenia and/or bipolar disorder family cohorts, with standardized methods. Compared to controls, SZ-FDRs showed a pattern of widespread thinner cortex, while BD-FDRs had widespread larger cortical surface area. IQ was lower in SZ-FDRs (d = -0.42, p = 3 × 10-5 ), with weak evidence of IQ reductions among BD-FDRs (d = -0.23, p = .045). Both relative groups had similar educational attainment compared to controls. When adjusting for IQ or educational attainment, the group-effects on brain measures changed, albeit modestly. Changes were in the expected direction, with less pronounced brain abnormalities in SZ-FDRs and more pronounced effects in BD-FDRs. To conclude, SZ-FDRs and BD-FDRs show a differential pattern of structural brain abnormalities. In contrast, both had lower IQ scores and similar school achievements compared to controls. Given that brain differences between SZ-FDRs and BD-FDRs remain after adjusting for IQ or educational attainment, we suggest that differential brain developmental processes underlying predisposition for schizophrenia or bipolar disorder are likely independent of general cognitive impairment