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Neurocognitive functioning in patients recently diagnosed with bipolar disorder
Tone Hellvin1, Kjetil Sundet, Carmen Simonsen
1Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Oslo, Norway. tone.hellvin@medisin.uio.no
Bipolar Disorders
|May 3, 2012
Summary
Cognitive dysfunction is present in early bipolar disorder (BD), affecting psychomotor speed, attention, and memory. These deficits are clinically significant for some patients and may worsen with illness progression.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Psychiatry
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Cognitive dysfunction is a known feature of bipolar disorder (BD).
- Limited research exists on neurocognition in the early stages of BD.
- This study addresses the gap by examining neurocognitive function in first-episode mania patients.
Purpose of the Study:
- To compare neurocognitive function in patients with first-contact mania against a matched healthy control group.
- To assess the prevalence of clinically significant neurocognitive impairment in early BD.
- To compare early-stage BD neurocognition with findings from multiple-episode BD patients.
Main Methods:
- Neuropsychological testing was conducted on patients with first manic episodes (FM) and previous untreated manic episodes (PM).
- A control group of 110 healthy subjects was matched for age, gender, and education.
- Cognitive domains assessed included learning, memory, attention, processing speed, executive functioning, and IQ, with adjustments for processing speed.
Main Results:
- Patients with early BD exhibited impairments in psychomotor speed, attention, learning, memory, executive functioning, and IQ.
- Visuoconstructive reasoning and motor dexterity remained significantly impaired even after controlling for processing speed.
- Clinically significant neurocognitive impairment was found in 18% of FM and 16% of PM patients, with smaller deficits compared to multiple-episode patients.
Conclusions:
- Neurocognitive dysfunction is a significant and present feature in the early course of bipolar disorder.
- A notable proportion of early BD patients experience clinically significant neurocognitive impairment.
- Evidence suggests that neurocognitive deficits may escalate with the progression of bipolar disorder.
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