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Correlates of neurological soft signs in bipolar disorder

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Abstract

Recent research has focused on neurological soft signs (NSS) in bipolar disorder (BD), but there is still scarce evidence on their correlates with other relevant variables. The aim of this study was to explore the association between NSS and clinical demographic, neurocognitive, and functional variables. Eighty-eight euthymic BD patients were included in whom NSS were assessed using the Neurological Evaluation Scale. All subjects performed an extensive neurocognitive battery selected to assess premorbid IQ, attention, language, verbal memory, and executive functions. Psychosocial outcomes were assessed by means of the Functioning Assessment Short Test. Among the demographical variables, NSS tended to be negatively associated with years of education and increased with age. Likewise, NSS were higher in BD type I than in BD type II, but independent of age at illness onset and number of previous affective episodes. There was a negative correlation between NSS and premorbid IQ, as well as with performance in attention, language, and executive functions. Results tended to be unchanged when controlled for potential confounders. Although NSS were associated with poor psychosocial functioning in the bivariate analysis, when added to a multiple regression model including neurocognition, these neurological features did not significantly contribute to the variance of the functional outcome. Our findings contribute to a better characterization of NSS in BD; their potential clinical and theoretical implications are discussed in the manuscript.

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Funding

The authors did not receive support from any organization for the submitted work.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. National Council of Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET), Godoy Cruz 2290 (C1425FQB), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Marina P. Valerio & Diego J. Martino

  2. Psychiatric Emergencies Hospital Torcuato de Alvear, Warnes 2630 (C1427DPS), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Marina P. Valerio, Julieta Lomastro & Ana Igoa

  3. Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Pacheco de Melo 1854 (C1126AAB), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diego J. Martino

  4. Charcas 4189, 1°′′C′′ (C1425BNG), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Diego J. Martino

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  1. Marina P. Valerio
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  3. Ana Igoa
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  4. Diego J. Martino
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Contributions

DM: designed the study and created the database. DM and AI: assessed patients. DM, MV, and JL: analyzed the data and wrote the first draft of the manuscript. All authors revised and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Diego J. Martino.

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Conflict of interest

The authors have no relevant financial or non-financial interests to disclose.

Ethical approval

This study was approved by Favaloro University Hospital’s Ethics Committee and was performed in accordance with the ethical standards as laid down in the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments.

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All subjects gave written informed consent for their participation after receiving a complete description of the study.

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Valerio, M.P., Lomastro, J., Igoa, A. et al. Correlates of neurological soft signs in bipolar disorder. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 273, 1183–1190 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-023-01558-1

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