A number of investigations have found that BIS-11 scores are elevated in patients with bipolar disorder compared to controls (Swann et al., 2009a). Despite its modest correlation with affective state (Swann et al., 2008), BIS-11 scores have also been found to be higher in euthymic subjects with bipolar disorder compared to controls, suggesting that impulsivity is a predisposing trait for the disorder (Swann et al., 2003). Residual BIS-11 scores after regression on depressive and manic symptoms also differ significantly between individuals with bipolar disorder and controls (Swann et al., 2009a). Impulsivity relates to aspects of the disorder’s course in that BIS-11 scores have been found to be higher in patients who had early onset of illness, many depressive or manic episodes, history of a substance- or alcohol-use disorder, and history of suicide attempts, compared to patients with bipolar disorder without these characteristics (Swann et al., 2009a). (As expected, individuals with bipolar disorder lacking these characteristics still had significantly higher BIS-11 scores than healthy control subjects.)
