Emotional memory in bipolar disorder.
BACKGROUND
Cognitive impairment has been well documented in bipolar disorder. However, specific aspects of cognition such as emotional memory have not been examined.


OBJECTIVE
To investigate episodic emotional memory in bipolar disorder, as indicated by performance on an amygdala-related cognitive task.


METHODS
Twenty euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and 20 matched controls were recruited. Participants were shown a slide show of an emotionally neutral story, or a closely matched emotionally arousing story. One week later, participants were assessed on a memory-recall test.


RESULTS
In contrast with the pattern observed in controls, patients with bipolar disorder had no enhancement of memory for the emotional content of the story (F=14.7, d.f.=1,36, P<0.001). The subjective perception of the emotional impact of the emotional condition was significantly different from that of the neutral condition in controls but not in people with bipolar disorder.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data suggest that the physiological pattern of enhanced memory retrieval for emotionally bound information is blunted in bipolar disorder.
Mood Disorders Centre, University of British Columbia, 2C7 - 2255 Wesbrook Mall, Vancouver, Canada V6T 2A1.
Marcia
M
Kauer-Sant'anna
Lakshmi N
LN
Yatham
Juliana
J
Tramontina
Fernanda
F
Weyne
Keila Maria
KM
Cereser
Fernando Kratz
FK
Gazalle
Ana Cristina
AC
Andreazza
Aida
A
Santin
Joao
J
Quevedo
Ivan
I
Izquierdo
Flavio
F
Kapczinski
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000679:Amygdala / Q000503:physiopathology; D001143:Arousal; D001714:Bipolar Disorder / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000523:psychology; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004644:Emotions; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000209:etiology / Q000523:psychology*; D011939:Mental Recall; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D033262:Narration