Comparison of hot and cold executive functions of patients with Bipolar disorder type I with non-suffering individuals

Background. The present study was conducted with the aim of comparing the hot and cold executive functions of patients with bipolar disorder (BD, I) and non-suffering individuals. Methods. In the current cross-sectional-analytical research, 140 individuals were selected as the sample size. The participants were chosen based on diagnostic interviews using SCID-I and SCID-II and placed in two groups. The collected data were analyzed by the analysis of variance for two groups (two-sample Hotelling’s T2). Results. The results showed that the reappraisal scores in the patient group were significantly lower than in the control group (P<0.001). In the two groups, there was a significant difference in inhibitory control as well as in its other subscales, namely, commission (P<0.001), omission error (P<0.001), inhibition (P<0.001), and response time (P<0.001). Regarding the cognitive flexibility variable and its subscales, the two groups were significantly different, except for failure to maintain the sequence (P=0.21) in the number of categories (P<0.001), perseverative errors (P<0.001), correct answers (P<0.001), and incorrect answers (P<0.001). Conclusion. Based on the findings, patients with BD had significant deficits in terms of emotion regulation strategies, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility compared to non-sufferers that can be considered in pre-clinical and clinical studies of BD. Practical Implications. Due to the significant difference between the variables of emotion regulation, inhibitory control, and cognitive flexibility between the two groups, it is possible to use the present findings in the direction of necessary therapeutic interventions for these patients and to increase the effectiveness of the treatment while reducing the functional deficits of these patients.