Bipolar disorder and cognitive functioning : a two-year naturalistic study

Patients with a bipolar (manic-depressive) disorder suffer from extreme mood swings that take shape as depression and/or mania. Bimonthly, a group of 76 patients was neuropsychologically examined over a period of two years. Studied were the course of their cognitive functioning by testing among others memory and attention functions and the influence of clinical variables on that, such as mood and medication. The cognitive functioning turned out to vary strongly over time and could only be partially explained by the mentioned variables. Medication used in the treatment of psychotic symptoms turned out to have the strongest negative effects on cognitive functioning.