Abstract
CNS investigation by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in a group of 40 patients with bipolar affective disorder indicate asymmetry of the temporal lobe structures, with predominance of abnormalities in the right cerebral hemisphere (widening of temporal horns of the right lateral ventricle, reduced width of right temporal lobe). Some characteristics of the course of affective illness (number of relapses 5, hospitalizations, disability due to the illness ineffectiveness of treatment with lithium carbonate) are more frequent in patients with the above-described temporal lobe structures asymmetry (including a widening of the Sylvian fissure [central sulcus]). The same patients demonstrated impairment of cognitive processes, in terms of inferior performance on some psychological tests from the Halstead-Reitan Battery.