Korean J Psychopharmacol.  2005 Nov;16(6):488-497.

Attention and Short-term Memory Impairments in Patients with Acute Bipolar Disorder: A Comparison Study with Schizophrenia and Normal Controls

• Kim SY
• Park HJ
• Lee KY
• Kim SC
• Kang BH
• Ha KS
• Kwon JS
• Kim YS
• Ahn YM

Abstract

INTRODUCTION
There are several studies that suggest bipolar and schizophrenic patients have similar pattern of cognitive impairments. The goal of this study is to examine whether there are common cognitive deficits between bipolar and schizophrenic patients in the attention and short-term memory domains using Vienna Test System. METHODS: Cognitive functions were assessed with a computerized neurocognitive test (Vienna Test System) in admitted patients with bipolar disorder (N=63), schizophrenia (N=65), and normal controls (N=64). The assessments were done with four subtests of Vienna Test System including Cross-over, Continuous Attention, Corsi's block tapping test and Work performance series. RESULTS: The performances of the bipolar and schizophrenic groups were significantly below that of the control group on the measures of attention and short-term memory. there were no significant differences between bipolar and schizophrenic groups. CONCLUSION: The results indicate that acute bipolar disorder and acute schizophrenia are not distinguishable in some neurocognitive domains such as attention and short-term memory. We may suggest that there is possible common factor underlying the neurocognitive impairments of bipolar disorder and schizophrenia.

Keyword

Bipolar disorder; Schizophrenia; Attention; Short-term memory

MeSH Terms

Bipolar Disorder*
Humans
Memory, Short-Term*
Schizophrenia*