The relationship between "Eyes Reading" ability and verbal memory in bipolar disorder. (March 2019) - Dalkner, N.
Highlights: Theory of Mind (measured with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test) was not impaired in individuals with bipolar disorder in general. Theory of Mind deficits were closely related to verbal learning and memory deficits in bipolar disorder, not in controls. Associations between poor Theory of Mind performance and poor memory function were mostly evident in male individuals with bipolar disorder. Verbal memory deficits may be a necessary condition for Reading the Mind in the Eyes deficits in bipolar disorder. Abstract: In psychiatric disorders, neurocognitive impairments are prevalent and have been associated with poor outcome. Deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM, "mentalising") have also been observed in bipolar disorder (BD); however, the literature shows inconsistent data. The aim of this study was to explore ToM performance in a well-characterized sample of euthymic individuals with BD and its relationship with neurocognitive function. One hundred sixteen euthymic patients with BD between 18 and 74 years (mean age = 42.4, SD = 13.8) and 79 healthy controls (mean age = 39.8, SD = 16.5) were investigated with an extensive neurocognitive test battery (Trail Making Test A/B, d2 Test of Attention, Stroop Color-Word Test, California Verbal Learning Test, Multiple Choice Vocabulary Test). Additionally, all participants were given the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) to measure affective ToM, the ability to make assumptions about other people´s feelings. Overall, "Eyes Reading" performance was not impaired in individuals with BD compared with controls. However, a significant relationship between RMET and verbal memory in BD was shown, particularly in males. Data showed worse RMET performance in patients with memory deficits compared to patients without memory deficits and controls. Due to cross-sectional data, no conclusions can be made with respect to cause and effect.