Treating Cognitive Impairments in Bipolar Disorders: New Leads in the Cognitive Remediation Field

Abstract

Cognitive deficits have been overlooked in bipolar spectrum disorders, despite their significant impact on patients’ quality of life. Indeed, nearly sixty percent of stabilized bipolar patients suffer from major cognitive impairments that impede their everyday life functioning. Without proper care, these impairments remain throughout lifespan and increase with hospitalisations, social isolation or pharmacological treatments. Cognitive remediation is a cost-effective tool well accepted by patients and caregivers that has proven its efficacy for treating cognitive impairments in several disorders such as schizophrenia. However, for bipolar disorders, this psychosocial intervention based on brain plasticity is still in its early stages. After depicting the state of the art on cognitive impairments and cognitive remediation in mood disorders, we will introduce the ECo program that was specifically designed for bipolar disorders. We will then present the preliminary results (n = 18) of a double-blind randomised controlled study that assessed the effect of this program on cognitive impairments and psychosocial functioning, at short term and long term (three and nine months). First results support the hypothesis of a positive impact of the ECo cognitive remediation program on bipolar patients’ neuropsychological functioning, self-efficacy and quality of life. Cognitive remediation may be a promising tool for bipolar disorders that meets the needs of patients, their caregivers and the community.

Disclosure of interest

The authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.