An fMRI study of emotional face encoding in youth at risk for bipolar disorder.

Face memory deficits may be a bipolar disorder (BD) endophenotype. BD (n=27) and unaffected youth at risk (n=13) exhibited middle frontal gyrus hypoactivation during successful vs. unsuccessful encoding. Parahippocampal gyrus dysfunction was found in BD and at-risk youth (vs. low-risk, n=37). Middle occipital gyrus hypoactivation was only present in BD.