Neurocognitive impairments and their relationship with psychosocial functioning in euthymic bipolar II disorder.

MARTINO D.J., IGOA A., MARENGO E., SCÁPOLA M., STREJILEVICH S.A.

JOURNAL OF NERVOUS AND MENTAL DISEASE

LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS

Lugar: Philadelphia; Año: 2011 vol. 199 p. 459 - 464

0022-3018

Abstract: The aim of this study was to compare neurocognitive functioningbetween euthymic patients with bipolar I disorder (BDI), bipolar II disorder(BDII), and healthy controls. An additional aim was to estimate the relationshipbetween neurocognitive impairments and psychosocial functioning. Eighty-seven patients with BDI (n = 48) or BDII (n = 39) and 39 healthy controls wereincluded. All subjects completed an extensive neurocognitive battery. Psy-chosocial functioning was assessed using the General Assessment of Func-tioning. Patients with BDII performed more poorly than did the controls inmeasures of psychomotor speed, verbal memory, and executive function-ing. Patient groups did not show differences in any of the cognitive measuresassessed. The performance in trail-making test B was the only independentpredictor of psychosocial functioning in both patient groups. Patients withBDII have cognitive impairments, and this has a negative influence on theirfunctional outcome. Our results bring additional support to the notion thatBDII disorder is not a merely mild type of BDI.