It is also unclear whether particular impairments (e.g., failing response inhibition) have a broadly similar impact on different disorders or whether particular impairments play a more pivotal role in the development of some aspects of pychopathology compared to others (e.g., intolerance of longer delays to larger rewards in substance use compared to bipolar disorder). Holmes and colleagues report that prior history of alcohol abuse exacerbates the impulsive behavior and risk decision-making shown by patients with bipolar disorder (Holmes et al., 2009). The data presented here suggest that these patient populations tend to share fairly generalized impairments across the several measures of impulsivity tested; however, improvements in the design and sensitivity of experimental models of impulsivity may yet reveal evidence for greater specificity between disorders.
