Abstract
40 patients (22 males and 18 females) with bipolar affective disorder in remission were assessed using the Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery. Their test performance was related to the MRI brain image. The patients under study had difficulty with problem-solving tasks, impaired interhemispheric transfer (particularly male patients), decreased motor skill of the dominant hand, and reduced strength of grip in both hands. No relationship was found between the patients' scores on the Halstead-Reitan Battery and their brain image obtained by MRI. On the other hand, patients with low scores differed from those scoring within or above the normal range on the Tactile Recognition and Tapping tests, in the structure of the left temporal lobe (wider left temporal lobe, thicker cortex of the parahippocampal gyrus, and wider Sylvian fissure), as well as of the right temporal lobe (widening of the temporal horn of the lateral ventricles, widened Sylvian fissure); moreover, both their right amygdala nucleus and the surface of the corpus callosum were smaller.