The effect of electroconvulsive therapy on executive functioning in a treatment-resistant man with depression: a case report.

This case examines the executive functioning in a 42-year-old married white man before receiving and after an index course of electroconvulsive therapy for 4 weeks using right unilateral lead placement. Results indicate clear cognitive improvements on objective measures of executive functioning, attention, and memory after electroconvulsive therapy. However, the patient expressed continued elevated impairments on the subjective questionnaire examining behaviors thought to be controlled by executive functioning.

Anterior cingulate subregion volumes and executive function in bipolar disorder.

Objective: Although research findings suggest a relationship between the function of anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and both cognitive ability and the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder (BPD), few studies have examined cognitive correlates of specific ACC subregion volumes in BPD. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to examine the relationship between magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)-derived gray and white matter volumes of ACC subregions (caudal, rostral, and subgenual) and performance on tests of executive function in 27 patients with BPD and 22 healthy subjects.

Methods: 1.

Magnetic resonance imaging analysis of amygdala and other subcortical brain regions in adolescents with bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Few studies have examined the abnormalities that underlie the neuroanatomy of bipolar disorder in youth. The aim of this study was to evaluate brain regions that are thought to modulate mood utilizing quantitative analyses of thin-slice magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans of adolescents with bipolar disorder. We hypothesized that adolescents with bipolar disorder would exhibit abnormalities in brain regions that are involved in the regulation of mood including the amygdala, globus pallidus, caudate, putamen, and thalamus.

Verbal memory in mania: effects of clinical state and task requirements.

Objectives: Manic patients exhibit impaired verbal learning and memory, particularly following longstanding illness. However, it is unclear whether recognition and recall performance are differentially influenced by a manic mood state.

Methods: To examine this issue, we administered the California Verbal Learning Test and symptom-rating scales to inpatients with pure or mixed mania, euthymic outpatients, and healthy comparison subjects.

Facial affect recognition deficits in bipolar disorder.

Patients diagnosed with bipolar disorder (BPD), by definition, have problems with emotional regulation. However, it remains uncertain whether these patients are also deficient at processing other people's emotions, particularly while manic. The present study examined the ability of 25 manic bipolar patients and 25 healthy participants on tasks of facial recognition and facial affect recognition at three different presentation durations: 500 ms, 750 ms, and 1000 ms.

Ventricular and periventricular structural volumes in first- versus multiple-episode bipolar disorder.

Objective: Ventriculomegaly has been reported in bipolar disorder, although whether it occurs at illness onset or progresses during the course of the disorder is unknown. In addition, it is unknown whether ventriculomegaly in bipolar disorder reflects acquired volume loss or underdevelopment of periventricular structures.

Method: Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the volumes of the lateral and third ventricles and periventricular structures (caudate, putamen, thalamus, hippocampus).

Neuroanatomic characterization of schizoaffective disorder using MRI: a pilot study.

For over 50 years, there has been uncertainty in the conceptual understanding and neuropathogenesis of the diagnosis of schizoaffective disorder (SCA). In order to better characterize SCA, we performed a quantitative assessment of MRI neuroanatomical structures in patients with SCA (n = 12), compared to patients with bipolar disorder (BPD) (n = 12) and healthy volunteers (HV) (n = 12). Patients diagnosed with SCA exhibited regional abnormalities on the striatum that resemble those seen in BPD.