Frontosubcortical Neuroanatomy and the Continuous Performance Test in Mania

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: The authors examined whether Continuous Performance Test scores correlate with frontosubcortical volumes in bipolar disorder. METHOD: The subjects were 17 patients hospitalized for an acute manic episode and 12 group-matched comparison subjects. They underwent magnetic resonance imaging and completed the Continuous Performance Test. RESULTS: The patients performed worse on the Continuous Performance Test and had smaller prefrontal cortical volumes than the comparison subjects. Within the patient group, Continuous Performance Test performance significantly correlated with prefrontal and hippocampal volumes. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that certain neuroanatomic structures may be associated with attentional dysfunction in mania.