Psychology 1100 Article Summary Assignment Article’s authors: Carrie E. Bearden, David C. Glahn, Sheila Caetano, Rene L. Olvera, Manoela Fonseca, Pablo Najt, Kristina Hunter, Steve R. Pliszka and Jair C. Soares Article: Evidence for disruption in prefrontal cortical functions in juvenile bipolar disorder Journal: Bipolar Disorders, vol. 9(Suppl. 1) Year of Publication: June 2007 SUMMARY Juvenile bipolar-disorder (juvenile BPD), also called manic-depressive illness, is a disorder characterized by altering periods of mania then to periods of depression, and then descends quickly to moments of normal mood lasting for long intervals. This disorder manifests differently in children compared to adults, overlapped with symptoms of other childhood disorders, such as ADHD (Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder), ODD (Oppositional Defiant Disorder), and anxiety disorders. ADHD is a disorder characterized by behavioral and learning disorder while ODD is characterized by rebellious behavior pattern found in childhood and adolescence towards adults in positions of authority. This empirical study on juvenile BPD was conducted from the “perspective of cognitive neuroscience” (p. 145), where neuropsychological test models were created and used to understand juvenile BPD symptoms, particularly on the prefrontal cortex functions. These functions include attention, working memory, and response initiation and set shifting. This research was focused upon achieving two goals. First goal was to improve the understanding on juvenile BPD by focusing upon measures of executive cognition in pediatric BPD 1 and the second goal was to explore “the effects of comorbid diagnoses, psychotropic medications and clinical symptomatology on executive cognition” (p. 146). Hypothesis of the research was formed based on the evidence that continuity between the juvenile stage and the adult stage of the illness, juvenile BPD participants would exhibit “similar pattern of cognitive deficit...