Irony comprehension in first-degree relatives of patients with bipolar affective disorder – a preliminary fMRI study

First-degree relatives of bipolar patients showed altered brain activity patterns during irony comprehension tasks, despite comparable behavioral performance. The observed neural patterns could indicate alternative cognitive strategies or latent vulnerability markers, underscoring the need for further multimodal investigation. Altered neural activation during irony processing may serve as an endophenotypic marker for bipolar disorder. Future research should explore these findings in larger cohorts and assess additional cognitive factors.