An fMRI study of emotional face encoding in youth at risk for bipolar disorder

Face memory deficits may be a bipolar disorder (BD) endophenotype. BD (n = 27) and unaffected youth at risk (n = 13) exhibited middle frontal gyrus hypoactivation during successful vs. unsuccessful encoding. Parahippocampal gyrus dysfunction was found in BD and at-risk youth (vs. low-risk, n = 37). Middle occipital gyrus hypoactivation was only present in BD.