Name:	BFS
Title:	Bipolar Family Study
Researchers:
Funding Body:	The Health Foundation
Funding Awarded:	£650,000
Start Date:	01/02/2007
End Date:	01/06/2009

 

Summary

The proposed project is a logical development of my previous research which demonstrated that patients with bipolar disorder have deficits in cognitive tests and brain structure that are in some cases shared by their unaffected relatives and by people with schizophrenia. Using functional MRI and Diffusion Tensor Imaging, the proposed study aims to:

1. Identify the clinical and neurocognitive features that are associated with an increased genetic liability to bipolar disorder and determine their association with known genetic variants
2. Iidentify which characteristics distinguish those who develop a mood disorder from those who do not and clarify the changes in neurocognitive function which accompany the transition from health to clinical illness.

The proposed study builds upon the success of the Edinburgh High Risk Study, a prospective investigation of 200 people at high risk of schizophrenia for genetic reasons in which I was a major contributor. The Edinburgh High Risk Study clarified the neurocognitive associations of increased genetic liability to schizophrenia and identified premorbid predictors of psychosis with clinically useful precision. Data acquired during the proposed fellowship would be compared with that of the Edinburgh High Risk Study and provide a unique opportunity to compare the findings in people at high risk of bipolar disorder with that of similar subjects at high risk of schizophrenia.