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Classical Short-Delay Eyeblink Conditioning in One-Year-Old Children
Published on: September 1, 2018
Eyeblink conditioning anomalies in bipolar disorder suggest cerebellar dysfunction
Amanda R Bolbecker1, Crystal Mehta, Jason K Johannesen
1Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA.
Bipolar Disorders
|January 13, 2009
Summary
Individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) show cerebellar deficits in learning and timing. Those experiencing mixed episodes exhibit the most significant impairment, suggesting cerebellar dysfunction is linked to mood state in BD.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
Background:
- Research increasingly links the cerebellum to psychological functions and psychiatric disorders like bipolar disorder (BD).
- Cerebellar lesions have been observed to induce bipolar-like symptoms, yet direct examination of cerebellar function in BD patients is limited.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the functional integrity of the cerebellum in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) using eyeblink conditioning.
- To determine if cerebellar function differs across mood states (manic, mixed, euthymic) in BD patients.
Main Methods:
- Employed a single-cue delay eyeblink conditioning paradigm.
- Assessed 28 individuals with BD (categorized by mood state) and 28 age-matched healthy controls.
Main Results:
- The overall bipolar disorder group demonstrated deficits in conditioned response acquisition and timing compared to controls.
- Individuals with BD tested during mixed episodes showed significant impairments in both acquisition and timing, performing worse than all other groups.
Conclusions:
- Findings support the role of cerebellar functional abnormalities in bipolar disorder (BD).
- Cerebellar dysfunction appears to be associated with specific mood states and the overall course of illness in BD.
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