Declarative memory impairment in pediatric bipolar disorder.
OBJECTIVE
Impaired verbal declarative memory has been proposed as a trait marker for adult bipolar disorder. However, similar impairments in juvenile-onset bipolar disorder have not been yet documented. Here, we assessed declarative memory in a large sample of clinically well-characterized children with bipolar disorder.


METHODS
Forty-one children and adolescents with bipolar disorder [21 bipolar I disorder (BP-I), 10 bipolar II disorder (BP-II), and 10 bipolar disorder, not otherwise specified (BP-NOS)] and 17 demographically matched healthy participants completed a standardized learning and memory test.


RESULTS
BP-I children recalled and recognized significantly fewer words than healthy subjects, whereas children with BP-II and BP-NOS did not differ from controls. However, individuals with BP-NOS made more perseverative errors and intrusions than the other groups. Severity of mood symptomatology was not associated with memory performance in any bipolar subtype.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings suggest that declarative memory impairments in juvenile BP-I are similar to those seen in the adult form of the illness. These impairments do not appear to be secondary to clinical state; rather, they may reflect trait-related impairments. Distinct performance patterns in BP-I, BP-II, and BP-NOS suggest that the broadly defined phenotype is significantly heterogeneous, and may not be informative for pathogenetic investigations of bipolar disorder.
Glahn
David C
DC
Department of Psychiatry, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78229, USA. glahn@uthscsa.edu
Bearden
Carrie E
CE
Caetano
Sheila
S
Fonseca
Manoela
M
Najt
Pablo
P
Hunter
Kristina
K
Pliszka
Steve R
SR
Olvera
Rene L
RL
Soares
Jair C
JC
D000293:Adolescent; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D003710:Demography; D002658:Developmental Disabilities; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology*; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D021641:Recognition, Psychology / Q000502:physiology; D013223:Statistics as Topic; D014706:Verbal Learning / Q000502:physiology*