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Neurocognitive impairment in euthymic young adults with bipolar spectrum disorder and recurrent major depressive disorder
Author(s) -
Smith Daniel J,
Muir Walter J,
Blackwood Douglas HR
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
bipolar disorders
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.285
H-Index - 129
eISSN - 1399-5618
pISSN - 1398-5647
DOI - 10.1111/j.1399-5618.2006.00275.x
Subject(s) - neurocognitive , bipolar disorder , psychology , major depressive disorder , spectrum disorder , verbal memory , neuropsychology , psychiatry , bipolar i disorder , executive functions , clinical psychology , memory impairment , verbal learning , audiology , cognition , medicine , mania
Objective: Patients with remitted major depressive disorder (MDD) and bipolar disorder have persistent impairments in executive function and verbal memory that may represent endophenotypic abnormalities. In this study, we examine neurocognitive function in a sample of euthymic young adults with bipolar spectrum disorder (BSD) (Can J Psychiatry 2002; 47: 125–134) and compare this to well‐matched samples of young adults with recurrent MDD and controls. Method: Twenty‐one euthymic young adult patients with BSD were compared with 42 young adult patients with MDD and 33 controls on a neuropsychological battery assessing attention, executive function and verbal memory. Results: Patients with BSD were significantly more impaired than MDD patients and controls on tests of executive function and verbal memory. MDD patients did not differ significantly from controls on verbal memory function but performed less well on a test of executive function. Conclusion: Euthymic young adults with BSD had greater impairment on neurocognitive measures associated with prefrontal and hippocampal function than MDD patients and controls. This is a reflection of a strong bipolar diathesis in the BSD group rather than being a consequence of a more severe unipolar illness.