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Neurocognitive functioning in the early stages of bipolar disorder: visual backward masking performance in high risk subjects

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Abstract

Introduction

Cognitive deficits, including deficits in early information processing, are associated with remitted bipolar disorder. The temporal relationship between these deficits and the clinical course is not known. The current study investigated whether or not deficits in early information processing were present before the onset and/or during the early stages of bipolar disorder.

Methods

Unaffected and remitted high risk offspring of well-characterized bipolar parents completed a visual backward masking task. For comparison we included a cohort of unaffected offspring of well parents and a clinically referred group of remitted bipolar patients.

Results

There was no evidence of a deficit in early information processing in well high risk subjects. As expected, the referred patient group had the highest error rates. After excluding the patients, interaction effect showed that the affected remitted high risk subjects performed differently in terms of error rates than unaffected high risk and control subjects. There were no significant differences in response times across study groups. Exploratory analyses revealed an association between a lifetime history of psychosis and increased errors on the task.

Conclusions

There was no evidence of a vulnerability in early information processing in offspring at risk for bipolar disorder. However, there were emergent changes in performance in the affected remitted high risk group. Psychosis appears to be an important clinical correlate associated with cognitive deficits. Mapping of the early course of bipolar disorder and associated changes in cognition has important implications for establishing critical periods for intervention.

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to thank Ms Leah Crawford for her assistance with this manuscript.

Financial Disclosures

Dr. Duffy was the recipient of an Intermediate Investigator Award from the National Alliance for Schizophrenia and Affective Disorders (NARSAD) and a Canada Research Chair Tier II in Child Mood Disorders (CRC). This study was sponsored by operating grants from the Ontario Mental Health Foundation (OMHF) and from the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR). The authors have no financial or potential conflict of interest to disclose with respect to the subject matter of this paper.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychiatry, Dalhousie University, 5909 Veteran’s Memorial Lane, Halifax, NS, B3H 2E2, Canada

    Anne Duffy MD, Tomas Hajek MD, PhD & Martin Alda MD

  2. Mood Disorders Centre of Ottawa, 202-1929 Russell Rd, Ottawa, ON, K1G 5R4, Canada

    Paul Grof MD, PhD

  3. Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre, 1145 Carling Ave, Ottawa, ON, K1Z 7K4, Canada

    Robert Milin MD

  4. Department of Psychiatry, Foothills Hospital, University of Calgary, 1403-29 Street N.W, Calgary, AB, T2N 2T9, Canada

    Glenda MacQueen MD, PhD

Authors
  1. Anne Duffy MD
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  2. Tomas Hajek MD, PhD
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  3. Martin Alda MD
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  4. Paul Grof MD, PhD
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  5. Robert Milin MD
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  6. Glenda MacQueen MD, PhD
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Duffy MD.

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Duffy, A., Hajek, T., Alda, M. et al. Neurocognitive functioning in the early stages of bipolar disorder: visual backward masking performance in high risk subjects. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 259, 263–269 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-008-0862-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-008-0862-3

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