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Published online by Cambridge University Press: 23 March 2020
Cognitive dysfunctions concerning working memory, attention, psychomotor speed, and verbal memory are a disabling feature of the bipolar disorder (BD). According to scientific literature, cognitive disturbances are present not only in depressive and manic phases of BD, but also during the euthymic period, without regard to whether or not drugs are assumed.
To determine the presence of one or more dysfunctions in cognitive domains in a sample of subjects suffering from BD, in euthymic phase, compared with healthy controls.
Evaluation of the following cognitive performances in subjects affected by BD: speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning and problem solving, and social cognition.
Forty-six patients affected by BD in the euthymic phase (mean age: 43.17 years old; 39.13% male), and 58 healthy controls (mean age: 39.21 years old; 51.72% male) were enrolled in the psychiatric unit of Azienda Sanitaria Locale, Foggia. The neuropsychological battery MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery (MCCB) was administered by trained psychiatrists.
We found the presence of cognitive impairment, affecting six out of seven of cognitive functions assessed (P < 0.001): speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working memory, verbal learning, visual learning, reasoning and problem solving.
These preliminary results from our case-control study show that cognitive deficits are clearly present also during the euthymic phases of subjects with bipolar disorder (mainly pertaining attention/vigilance domain). These cognitive abnormalities may represent a biomarker of bipolar disorder.
The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.
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