Why now and not later? An exploration into the neurocognitive correlates of delay discounting in bipolar disorder

Increased delay discounting is evident in bipolar disorder, though there is minimal research on the factors that impact delay discounting in this population. We evaluated neurocognitive correlates of delay discounting among relatively euthymic participants with bipolar disorder (N = 76) with (n = 31) and without (n = 45) past-year substance use disorders. There were no significant differences in the mean delay discounting value between the bipolar disorder group and the comorbid bipolar disorder and past-year substance use disorders group (p = .082, Cohen's d = 0.41). Using multiple regression, we evaluated the most important predictors of the delay discounting value. Impairments in executive functioning (per number of categories completed on the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) and visuospatial construction (per the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test Copy Raw Score), as well as decreased years of education (all ps < .05), offered the best neurocognitive characterization of increased delay discounting in this sample.