title: Neuropsychological functioning in youth with bipolar disorder.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Little is known about the neuropsychological status of youth with bipolar disorder (BPD) or whether cognitive deficits in this population are accounted for by comorbidity with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). We compared neuropsychological and academic functioning of youth with and without DSM-IV BPD, controlling for effects of comorbid ADHD.
  
  
  METHODS
  Fifty-seven youth with BPD and 46 healthy control subjects were assessed on a battery of clinical neuropsychological measures including subtests from the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for Children and Adults (Third Editions), the Stroop, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, the Rey-Osterreith Complex Figure, an auditory working memory Continuous Performance Test, a measure of verbal learning, and the Wide Range Achievement Test-Third Edition.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Bipolar disorder was associated with impairments on subtests reflecting sustained attention, working memory, and processing speed after controlling for ADHD. Additionally, decrements of moderate effect sizes were found for measures of interference control, abstract problem solving, and verbal learning but did not meet criteria for statistical significance.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  After controlling for ADHD, youth with BPD show neuropsychological deficits similar to impairments found in adults with the disorder. Further studies are needed to understand the clinical implications of these impairments as well as their role in the underlying risk for pediatric BPD.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA. doylea@helix.mgh.harvard.edu
authors.forename: Alysa E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Doyle
authors.forename: Timothy E
authors.initials: TE
authors.lastname: Wilens
authors.forename: Anne
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Kwon
authors.forename: Larry J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Seidman
authors.forename: Stephen V
authors.initials: SV
authors.lastname: Faraone
authors.forename: Ronna
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Fried
authors.forename: Allison
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Swezey
authors.forename: Lindsey
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Snyder
authors.forename: Joseph
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Biederman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001288:Attention / Q000502:physiology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000150:complications / Q000523:psychology; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007361:Intelligence Tests; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory / Q000502:physiology; D008570:Memory, Short-Term; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011597:Psychomotor Performance / Q000502:physiology; D011619:Psychotropic Drugs / Q000627:therapeutic use; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology
chemical_list: D011619:Psychotropic Drugs