Reduced insight in bipolar I disorder: Neurofunctional and neurostructural correlates: A preliminary study

BackgroundTo correlate measures of insight for own psychopathology to structural and functional brain imaging findings in 21 patients with DSM-IV bipolar I disorder.MethodsInsight was assessed using the Scale to Assess Unawareness of Mental Disorder (SUMD). Resting single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) and computed tomography (CT) was conducted in patients and 21 normal comparison subjects matched for age, gender and handedness.ResultsReduced general insight and symptom awareness, but not symptom attribution, were significantly related to cortical and subcortical atrophy, respectively. No correlations between SPECT and insight measures were identified.LimitationsLimited sample size and the use of resting state SPECT.ConclusionsGeneral and symptom awareness were related to measures of brain atrophy but not to neurofunctioning as measured by SPECT. Future research should consider the structure and function of specific cortical regions, including the frontal and parietal cortices.