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Neurocognitive impairment has been found to be a marked feature in bipolar disorder (BD), also in the early phase of the illness. The longitudinal course of neurocognitive functioning, however, remains sparsely investigated. The aims of the study were to investigate the course of neurocognitive function in BD I, and to what degree neurocognitive change or stability is observed also on the individual level. Forty-two patients and 153 comparable healthy controls were assessed at baseline and one-year follow-up. Compared to the healthy control (HC) group BD I patients perform significantly poorer at both baseline and follow-up across all neurocognitive domains and on most neurocognitive subtests. Neurocognitive impairment remained stable for most patients from baseline to follow-up, both on a group level and when investigating individual trajectories, indicative of a relatively stable course of neurocognitive functioning in the early phase of BD I., (Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.)

Objectives: Explanatory factors for the observed neurocognitive impairment in early-stage bipolar I disorder (BD-I) have received little attention. The current study investigated neurocognitive functioning in first-treatment (FT) BD-I compared to FT schizophrenia (SCZ), and healthy controls (HCs), and the effect of history of psychosis and previous episodes in the two clinical groups., Methods: A total of 202 FT patients with BD-I (n = 101) and SCZ spectrum disorder (n = 101), in addition to HCs (n = 101), were included. A comprehensive neurocognitive test battery was used to assess verbal learning and memory, executive functioning, processing speed, and attention and working memory. Neurocognitive functioning and the effect of history of psychosis and number of previous episodes were analyzed using separate multivariate analyses of variance and correlation analysis., Results: FT patients with BD-I performed intermediately between FT SCZ spectrum patients and HCs on all measures. Compared to HCs, FT BD-I showed impaired functioning across all neurocognitive domains. No differences in neurocognitive functioning were observed in psychotic versus nonpsychotic FT patients with BD-I. With the exception of an association between number of manic episodes and two measures of executive function in FT BD-I, no associations were found between number of episodes and neurocognitive performance., Conclusions: Neurocognitive impairments were present in FT BD-I, and were not explained by history of psychosis or number of previous psychotic or depressive episodes. There were indications that executive function could be associated with number of previous manic episodes., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons A/S. Published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)