Cognitive function in manics with associated neurologic factors

Researchers studying cognition in mania have assumed that mania is a homogeneous entity. Recent preliminary evidence indicates that some manic syndromes may be preceded by medical, pharmacological, and neurologic antecedents. While DSM-III suggests that mild cognitive impairment may be associated with these manic syndromes, studies to date have not documented this assertion. We compared bipolar patients with antecedent neurologic factors (neurologic manics, NM) to bipolar patients without such histories (primary manics, PM) on standard neuropsychological measures and clinical parameters to ascertain whether cognitive testing could be used as an adjunctive diagnostic tool in defining this subgroup of patients. Results indicated that the NM group was more dysfunctional in intellectual functioning and course of psychiatric illness than the PM group.