 In 1999-2001, inpatient units at the BIMC registered on average 1500 yearly admissions, 1350 of them ages 17-65. Upon admission, approximately 200 patients carried a diagnosis of Bipolar Mood Disorder I, manic episode, without comorbid substance abuse. The inpatient units at Saint Lukes Roosevelt admit 100 manic patients yearly. If the admission demographics remain unchanged for 2003, we expect that 40 patients per year will meet diagnostic inclusion criterion for the study. Based on our previous experience with recruitment for research studies, we expect that 30 of patients meeting the diagnostic criteria will also meet other inclusion and exclusion criteria, will sign the inform consent and participate in the study. Therefore we expect to recruit 36 patients per year and to complete the study accrual in 18 months. We plan to complete the data analysis for the acute phase within one year. 