Associations between cognitive impairment and cortical thickness alterations in patients with euthymic and depressive bipolar disorder

Abstract

• Cognitive functions and cortical thickness of the whole brain of patients with euthymic and depressive BP were compared. • Reduced thickness was observed in diverse frontal regions in the euthymic BP, which were positively correlated with cognitive function test scores. • The depressive BP group demonstrated thickening in the superior occipital gyri and occipitotemporal gyrus, suggesting a cortical dysfunction-related compensation mechanism. • Illness duration might play a more important role than expected in cognitive functions as the residing executive discomfort remained in euthymic BP.