SYMPTOM CORRELATES OF ATTENTIONAL IMPROVEMENT FOLLOWING HOSPITALIZATION FOR A FIRST EPISODE OF AFFECTIVE PSYCHOSIS

Background: This study examined patients with a first-episode of affec tive psychosis during acute and compensated states in order to determi ne whether changes in attentional functioning over rime were accompani ed by changes in the severity of psychotic or affective symptoms. Meth ods: Attentional performance was measured in patients (n = 27) using t he degraded-stimulus Continuous Performance Test (CPT) and symptoms we re assessed at the time of index hospitalization, and 2 months after d ischarge. A comparison group of normal volunteers (n 31) also performe d the CPT two months apart. Results: Patients performed significantly worse than controls at the initial testing but nor at follow-lip, The improvement in attentional performance significantly correlated with d ecreased severity of manic symptoms. Conclusions: Results suggest atte ntional dysfunction is a state-dependent characteristic of mania, and may provide an additional measure of clinical improvement following tr eatment. Biol Psychiatry 1998;44:784-786 (C) 1998 Society of Biologica l Psychiatry.