Project Summary

David C. Glahn, Ph.D. (Young Investigator 2005) of the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, aims to study families with members who have bipolar disease to get a better understanding of the genetics and environmental interactions in the disorder. In the proposed project, Dr. Glahn will collect neuropsychological and structural neuroimaging measures in individuals suffering from bipolar disorder and their unaffected siblings to replicate and expand upon previous findings that patients with bipolar disease have certain deficits, and to determine the extent that these measures are aberrant in those at genetic risk for the illness but who do not meet criteria for the disorder (unaffected siblings). Dr. Glahn hypothesizes that certain tests of attention, executive functioning and working and declarative memory will be impaired in bipolar disorder patients, and to a lesser degree to their unaffected siblings. He also suggests that abnormalities in prefrontal and medial temporal (limbic) cortex previously reported in patients with bipolar disorder will also show up in certain at-risk family members. Developing markers for bipolar disorder will facilitate the search for genetic loci associated with the illness and the identification of environmental contributions to illness expression among genotype carriers. Such information could lead to new prevention or treatment strategies.

Program Area: MOOD DISORDERS\Bipolar\Bipolar I

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