Mental rotation task in bipolar disorder.

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Psychiatry
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Bipolar disorder (BD) is known to impact cognitive and motor functions.
• Existing research indicates visuospatial processing and memory deficits in BD patients.
• The Mental Rotation Task (MRT) has not been previously utilized to assess these specific deficits.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce the Mental Rotation Task (MRT) as a method for evaluating visuospatial deficits.
• To assess visuospatial processing and memory impairments in euthymic patients with bipolar disorder.

Main Methods:

• Recruited 31 euthymic BD patients and 27 healthy controls matched for age and education.
• Administered a digital version of the Mental Rotation Task (MRT).
• Participants compared rotated figures to identify similarities or differences.

Main Results:

• BD patients showed significantly longer reaction times across various rotation angles (-90, -45, 45, 90 degrees, and 0 degrees).
• Accuracy rates were significantly lower in the BD group compared to controls for the overall test and specific conditions.
• No significant differences in performance were observed at rotation angles of -135, 135, or 180 degrees.

Conclusions:

• The findings confirm visuospatial deficits in bipolar disorder, consistent with prior research.
• This study demonstrates, for the first time, the presence of mental rotation deficits in euthymic BD patients.
• The Mental Rotation Task is a viable tool for identifying visuospatial impairments in BD during stable phases.