New findings from University of Thessaloniki, Department of Psychiatry describe advances in bipolar disorder
2007 NOV 19 -- A new study, 'Humor appreciation in remitted patients with bipolar disorder,' is now available. According to recent research from Greece, "The purpose of the present study was to investigate humor appreciation in a group of remitted patients with bipolar disorder. We examined 19 patients (8 men) with bipolar disorder I, currently remitted, and 22 (9 men) healthy controls, matched on age, education, and gender, on a computerized test comprising captionless cartoons, the Penn's Humor Appreciation Test (PHAT)." "Residual manic symptoms were evaluated with the Young Mania Rating Scale and residual depressive symptoms with the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale. Patients with bipolar disorder performed worse than the healthy group on the PHAT, but this difference was not statistically significant. Performance on the PHAT did not significantly correlate with age of onset and duration of illness, or with residual manic or depressive symptoms measured by Young Mania Rating Scale and Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale, respectively," wrote V.P. Bozikas and colleagues, University of Thessaloniki, Department of Psychiatry. The researchers concluded: "Humor appreciation, based on captionless cartoons, in bipolar disorder does not seem to be deficient at least during remission, suggesting that this high-order cognitive function may not be considered a trait deficit of the disorder." Bozikas and colleagues published their study in the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease (Humor appreciation in remitted patients with bipolar disorder. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 2007;195(9):773-5). For additional information, contact V.P. Bozikas, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, 1st Dept. of Psychiatry, School of Psychology, Greece. Publisher contact information for the Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease is: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 530 Walnut St., Philadelphia, PA 19106-3621, USA. Keywords: Greece, Bipolar Disorder, Depression, Manic-Depressive Illness, Mental Health, Psychiatry. This article was prepared by Mental Health Weekly Digest editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Mental Health Weekly Digest via NewsRx.com.
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