Enhanced prefrontal function with pharmacotherapy on a response inhibition task in adolescent bipolar disorder.

Objective: The aim of the current study is to determine whether pharmacotherapy normalizes cognitive circuitry function supporting voluntary behavioral inhibition in adolescent bipolar disorder.

Method: Healthy controls and unmedicated patients with DSM-IV adolescent bipolar disorder in manic, mixed, or hypomanic episodes were matched on demographics and IQ (n = 13 per group; mean age = 14.4 ± 2.

An fMRI study of the neural correlates of incidental versus directed emotion processing in pediatric bipolar disorder.

Objective: To use functional neuroimaging to probe the affective circuitry dysfunctions underlying disturbances in emotion processing and emotional reactivity in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD).

Method: Equal numbers of controls (HC) and unmedicated patients with euthymia and PBD were matched for age, sex, race, socioeconomic status, and IQ (n = 10 per group; mean age 14.2 years [SD 2.

Diffusion tensor imaging study of white matter fiber tracts in pediatric bipolar disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Background: To investigate microstructure of white matter fiber tracts in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Methods: A diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) study was conducted at 3 Tesla on age- and IQ-matched children and adolescents with PBD (n = 13), ADHD (n = 13), and healthy control subjects (HC) (n = 15). Three DTI parameters, fractional anisotropy (FA), apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), and regional fiber coherence index (r-FCI), were examined in eight fiber tracts: anterior corona radiata (ACR), anterior limb of the internal capsule (ALIC), superior region of the internal capsule (SRI), posterior limb of the internal capsule (PLIC), superior longitudinal fasciculus (SLF), inferior longitudinal fasciculus (ILF), cingulum (CG), and splenium (SP).

Parent-child interactions in pediatric bipolar disorder.

Parent-child relationships may have a significant effect on illness characteristics of children with pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD), and these relationships may, in turn, be affected by the child's illness. We characterized maternal reports of parent-child relationships using the five-factor Parent-Child Relationship Questionnaire (PCRQ) in 60 families (30 PBD youth and 30 matched controls). Data on child proband and parental psychopathology were also obtained.

An fMRI study of the interface between affective and cognitive neural circuitry in pediatric bipolar disorder.

The pathophysiology of pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) impacts both affective and cognitive brain systems. Understanding disturbances in the neural circuits subserving these abilities is critical for characterizing developmental aberrations associated with the disorder and developing improved treatments. Our objective is to use functional neuroimaging with pediatric bipolar disorder patients employing a task that probes the functional integrity of attentional control and affect processing.

Facial emotion processing in acutely ill and euthymic patients with pediatric bipolar disorder.

Objective: Past investigations indicate facial emotion-processing abnormalities in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) subjects. However, the extent to which these deficits represent state- and trait-related factors is unclear. We investigated facial affect processing in acutely ill and clinically stabilized children with PBD and matched healthy subjects.

Impact of neurocognitive function on academic difficulties in pediatric bipolar disorder: A clinical translation.

Background: Previous research has demonstrated that academic and neuropsychological functions are compromised in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD). Investigation of the degree to which neuropsychological deficits might contribute to those academic problems is needed to aid in the recognition and intervention for school achievement difficulties in PBD.

Methods: A sample of 55 children and adolescents with PBD with and without attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (PBD group, n = 28; PBD+ADHD group, n = 27) were tested with a computerized neurocognitive battery and standardized neuropsychological tests.

Neurocognitive function in unmedicated manic and medicated euthymic pediatric bipolar patients.

Objective: A systematic evaluation of neuropsychological functioning in individuals with pediatric bipolar disorder is necessary to clarify the types of cognitive deficits that are associated with acutely ill and euthymic phases of the disorder and the effects of medication on these deficits.

Method: Unmedicated (N=28) and medicated (N=28) pediatric bipolar patients and healthy individuals (N=28) (mean age=11.74 years, SD=2.