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Neuropsychological functioning in bipolar disorder and schizophrenia
David J Schretlen1, Nicola G Cascella, Stephen M Meyer
1Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287-7218, and Olin Neuropsychiatric Research Center, Hartford Hospital Institute of Living, CT, USA. dschret@jhmi.edu
Biological Psychiatry
|December 13, 2006
Summary
Cognitive deficits in bipolar disorder (BD) are milder but similar to schizophrenia (SZ). Both conditions share more similarities in the nature than the severity of neuropsychological impairments.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Neuropsychological deficits are observed in stable patients with bipolar disorder (BD).
- The qualitative differences between cognitive deficits in BD and schizophrenia (SZ) are not well understood.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare the nature and severity of cognitive deficits in patients with SZ and BD.
- To investigate the phenotypic similarity between SZ and BD regarding neuropsychological impairments.
Main Methods:
- Compared cognitive performance in 106 SZ patients, 66 BD patients, and 316 healthy controls (NC).
- Administered a cognitive battery with 19 measures, adjusting for demographic and premorbid IQ factors.
- Derived regression-based T-scores for individual measures and six cognitive domains.
Main Results:
- Both SZ and BD groups showed significant cognitive deficits compared to NCs.
- Effect sizes for SZ patients ranged from 0.37 to 1.32 (mean=0.97), and for BD patients from 0.23 to 0.87 (mean=0.59).
- A strong positive correlation (r=0.71, p<.001) was found between the effect sizes of the two patient groups.
Conclusions:
- Bipolar disorder patients exhibit milder, yet qualitatively similar, cognitive deficits compared to schizophrenia patients.
- Schizophrenia and bipolar disorder share greater phenotypic similarity in the nature of neuropsychological deficits than in their severity.
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