Neuroanatomic and Functional Neuroimaging Findings.

The search for brain morphology findings that could explain behavioral disorders has gone through a long path in the history of psychiatry. With the advance of brain imaging technology, studies have been able to identify brain morphology and neural circuits associated with the pathophysiology of mental illnesses, such as bipolar disorders (BD). Promising results have also shown the potential of neuroimaging findings in the identification of outcome predictors and response to treatment among patients with BD.

Are existing self-ratings of acute manic symptoms in adults reliable and valid?-A systematic review.

Background: Depression research historically uses both self- and clinician ratings of symptoms with significant and substantial correlations. It is often assumed that manic patients lack insight and cannot accurately report their symptoms. This delayed the development of self-rating scales for mania, but several scales now exist and are used in research.

Accelerated hippocampal biological aging in bipolar disorder.

Objectives: Evidence suggests accelerated aging mechanisms in bipolar disorder (BD), including DNA methylation (DNAm) aging in blood. However, it is unknown whether such mechanisms are also evident in the brain, in particular in association with other biological clocks. To investigate this, we interrogated genome-wide DNAm in postmortem hippocampus from 32 BD-I patients and 32 non-psychiatric controls group-matched for age and sex from the NIMH Human Brain Collection Core.

Reward sensitivity and the course of bipolar disorder: A survival analysis in a treatment seeking sample.

Objectives: Reward sensitivity is suggested to be an influence on the onset and reoccurrence of bipolar disorder (BD) in observational longitudinal studies. The current study examined whether reward sensitivity predicted the recurrence of mood episodes in a treatment seeking sample. We also explored if reward sensitivity moderated treatment outcomes of psychosocial treatment.

Current understandings of the trajectory and emerging correlates of cognitive impairment in bipolar disorder: An overview of evidence.

Objectives: Cognitive dysfunction affects a significant proportion of people with bipolar disorder (BD), but the cause, trajectory and correlates of such dysfunction remains unclear. Increased understanding of these factors is required to progress treatment development for this symptom dimension.

Methods: This paper provides a critical overview of the literature concerning the trajectories and emerging correlates of cognitive functioning in BD.

The use of component-wise gradient boosting to assess the possible role of cognitive measures as markers of vulnerability to pediatric bipolar disorder.

Background And Aims: Cognitive impairments are primary hallmarks symptoms of bipolar disorder (BD). Whether these deficits are markers of vulnerability or symptoms of the disease is still unclear. This study used a component-wise gradient (CGB) machine learning algorithm to identify cognitive measures that could accurately differentiate pediatric BD, unaffected offspring of BD parents, and healthy controls.

A Double-Blind, Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Study of Aspirin and N-Acetylcysteine as Adjunctive Treatments for Bipolar Depression.

Objective: Neuroinflammation has been implicated in the pathophysiology of bipolar disorder. Some evidence shows that nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have promising antidepressant effects. The antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) may enhance the effects of NSAIDs.

Biomarkers for bipolar disorder: current status and challenges ahead.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a chronic psychiatric disorder marked by clinical and pathophysiological heterogeneity. There is a high expectation that personalized approaches can improve the management of patients with BD. For that, identification and validation of potential biomarkers are fundamental.

Predictors of cognitive performance in bipolar disorder: The role of educational degree and inflammatory markers.

Background: The aim of this article was to evaluate the cognitive status of remitted patients with bipolar disorder (BD) using Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Frontal Assessment Battery, and Brief Assessment of Cognition in Affective Disorders (BAC-A). The BAC-A is a comprehensive test battery addressing the cognitive domains compromised in BD. We also aimed to analyze potential clinical and immune predictors of cognitive performance in BD.

A qualitative study investigating bipolar patients' expectations of a lifestyle intervention: A self-management program.

Background: There is some evidence supporting the efficacy of lifestyle interventions in changing unhealthy habits and reduce the risk of developing comorbid conditions in Bipolar Disorder (BD).

Aims: This qualitative study aimed to identify what an optimal lifestyle intervention would look like for individuals with BD.

Methods: The current findings are based on one focus group and two paired interviews including a total of 10 individuals with BD (44.

Changes in amygdala, cerebellum, and nucleus accumbens volumes in bipolar patients treated with lamotrigine.

The neural mechanisms underlying the therapeutic effects of lamotrigine in bipolar depression are still unexplored. This preliminary study compares the effects of a 12-week treatment with lamotrigine on brain volumes in adults with bipolar disorder (BD).12 BD type II patients (age: 49.

Effects of valproate on brain volumes in pediatric bipolar disorder: A preliminary study.

Sodium valproate (VPA) has well-established neuroprotective effects and is recommended as treatment in bipolar disorder patients. The neural effects of VPA in pediatric bipolar disorder (PBD) have yet to be established. This preliminary study explored the effects of VPA on brain structure in PBD.

A mania-related memory bias is associated with risk for relapse in bipolar disorder.

Objective: Previous work has shown that neuropsychological performance can predict outcome of psychotherapy. The present paper explores whether an affective bias in verbal memory is associated with recurrence of mood episodes in patients with Bipolar Disorder (BD).

Method: 76 euthymic adult patients with BD were randomly assigned to either 9 months of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Support Therapy (ST), and followed up for 2 years after completing therapy.

Accelerated epigenetic aging and mitochondrial DNA copy number in bipolar disorder.

Bipolar disorder (BD) has been previously associated with accelerated aging; yet, the mechanisms underlying this association are largely unknown. The epigenetic clock has been increasingly recognized as a valuable aging marker, although its association with other biological clocks in BD patients and high-risk subjects, such as telomere length and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) copy number, has never been investigated. We included 22 patients with BD I, 16 siblings of BD patients, and 20 healthy controls in this analysis.

Erratum to: Prediction of vulnerability to bipolar disorder using multivariate neurocognitive patterns: a pilot study.

In the original version of this article (Wu et al. 2017), published on 1 September 2017, the name of author 'Bo Cao' was wrongly displayed. In this Erratum the incorrect name and correct name are shown.

Increased reward-oriented impulsivity in older bipolar patients: A preliminary study.

Objective: Impulsivity is a well-established trait of bipolar disorder (BD) that persists across mood phases. It is, however, still unknown whether, in BD, impulsivity remains stable or varies in intensity over the lifespan. This cross-sectional study compared impulsive behavior in older euthymic BD patients and healthy individuals using a range of self-rating and behavioral measures of impulsivity.

Prediction of vulnerability to bipolar disorder using multivariate neurocognitive patterns: a pilot study.

Bipolar disorder (BD) is a common disorder with high reoccurrence rate in general population. It is critical to have objective biomarkers to identify BD patients at an individual level. Neurocognitive signatures including affective Go/No-go task and Cambridge Gambling task showed the potential to distinguish BD patients from health controls as well as identify individual siblings of BD patients.

The Link between Refractoriness and Neuroprogression in Treatment-Resistant Bipolar Disorder.

Treatment refractoriness remains one of the biggest challenges in the field of bipolar disorder (BD) as treatments are often suboptimal or unsatisfactory. Recent evidence points towards a potential link between the progressively evolving nature of BD, increased inflammation, and reduced treatment response. There are several medications and other somatic treatments available, but remission rates are low, and medication compliance is still problematic.

Are self-rated and behavioural measures of impulsivity in bipolar disorder mainly related to comorbid substance use problems?

Introduction: Impulsivity is a multidimensional feature observed in bipolar disorder (BD) and substance use disorder (SUD). We previously found a relationship between SUD and risk taking in BD. It is still unclear whether self-rated and behavioral impulsivity measures differ between BD with and without comorbid SUD, or are specific to BD.

Memory performance predicts recurrence of mania in bipolar disorder following psychotherapy: A preliminary study.

Objective: Cognitive complaints are common features of bipolar disorder (BD). Not much is, however, known about the potential moderator effects of these factors on the outcome of talking therapies. The goal of our study was to explore whether learning and memory abilities predict risk of recurrence of mood episodes or interact with a psychological intervention.

Effect of alcohol and illicit substance use on verbal memory among individuals with bipolar disorder.

Background: Cognitive impairment is a well-established feature of bipolar disorder (BD). Comorbid BD and substance use leads to poor psychosocial and clinical outcomes. However, knowledge on the neurocognitive functioning of individuals with dual diagnosis is limited.

The role of white matter in personality traits and affective processing in bipolar disorder.

Background: Bipolar disorder (BD) is characterized by affective processing bias and variations in personality traits. It is still unknown whether these features are linked to the same structural brain alterations. The aim of this study was to investigate relationships between specific personality traits, white matter (WM) properties, and affective processing in BD and HC.

Neurocognitive functioning in individuals with bipolar disorder and their healthy siblings: A preliminary study.

Background: Cognitive deficits have been consistently reported in individuals with bipolar disorder (BD). The cognitive profile of siblings of individuals with BD is, however, less clearly established possibly due to the heterogeneity of neuropsychological measures used in previous studies. The aim of this exploratory study was to assess the cognitive function of siblings of individuals with BD and compare it with that of their first-degree relatives suffering with BD, and healthy controls (HC) using the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB) - a comprehensive and validated computerized cognitive battery.

Reduced hippocampus volume and memory performance in bipolar disorder patients carrying the BDNF val66met met allele.

Background: Previous studies investigated the impact of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) val66met (rs6265) on hippocampus volumes and neurocognition in bipolar disorders (BD), but the results were not consistent. This study aimed to investigate the effect of BDNF polymorphism on hippocampus volumes and memory performance in well-characterized adult populations diagnosed with type I BD (BD-I) and major depressive disorder (MDD) compared with healthy controls (HC).

Methods: 48 BD-I patients, 33 MDD patients and 60 HC were genotyped for BDNF rs6265 using DNA isolated from white blood cells.