Alonso-Lana S, et al. - Considering the widespread cortical and subcortical brain functional abnormalities seen in bipolar disorder, researchers sought to ascertain variations that occur between illness phases and recovery. fMRI during the performance of the n-back working memory task was performed on 26 bipolar patients when manic and again following recovery, and on 26 matched healthy controls on two occasions. They noted clusters of significantly reduced activation in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)/precentral cortex and the parietal cortex/superior precuneus bilaterally among the patients when manic. Normalization of DLPFC and parietal hypoactivation was noted with recovery from mania, but not ventromedial frontal cortex (vmPFC) failure of deactivation. Accordingly, vmPFC failure of deactivation appears to represent a trait abnormality in the disorder.