Conclusions  Electronic self-monitoring of mood in depression appears to be a valid measure of mood in contrast to self-monitoring of mood in mania .
Background Various paper-based mood charting instruments are used in the monitoring of symptoms in bipolar disorder .
During recent years an increasing number of electronic self-monitoring tools have been developed .
The objectives of this systematic review were 1 ) to evaluate the validity of electronic self-monitoring tools as a method of evaluating mood compared to clinical rating scales for depression and mania and 2 ) to investigate the effect of electronic self-monitoring tools on clinical ly relevant outcomes in bipolar disorder .
There are yet few studies on the effect of  electronic self-monitoring of mood  in bipolar disorder .
The Stanley Foundation Bipolar Treatment Outcome Network. I. Longitudinal methodology.
The NIMH-Stanley Foundation Bipolar Treatment Outcome Network , a multisite clinical trials network , has been established to address many of the neglected areas of research in bipolar illness . The Network was design ed so that it would be able to conduct r and omized clinical trials at several different levels of method ologic rigor ( blinded and open-label ) both in academic and community practice setting s in order to better assess long-term efficacy of existing treatments and develop new ones . In this fashion , large numbers of representative patients with bipolar disorder have been enrolled with an additional focus of elucidating possible clinical and biological predictors of treatment response . The unique focus of the Network is its systematic longitudinal approach to illness so that patients can be assessed comprehensively over the long-term in sequential r and omized clinical trials at critical clinical decision points where data on relative efficacy are inadequate . Bipolar I and bipolar II patients with a range of illness variants and comorbidities are included . Daily prospect i ve ratings of severity of mania and depression and associated degree of functional impairment are completed on the NIMH-Life Chart Method and a modified Clinical Global Impressions Scale for Bipolar Illness ( CGI-BP ) is utilized . More detailed cross-sectional ratings for depression ( Inventory of Depressive Symptomatology ) , mania ( Young Mania Rating Scale ) , and psychosis ( Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale ) are additionally used at academic centers . This article describes the rationale for the Network , its guiding principles , methods , and study design to systematic ally assess the highly variable course of bipolar illness and its response to current and future treatments
Conclusions  Electronic self-monitoring of mood in depression appears to be a valid measure of mood in contrast to self-monitoring of mood in mania .
Background Various paper-based mood charting instruments are used in the monitoring of symptoms in bipolar disorder .
During recent years an increasing number of electronic self-monitoring tools have been developed .
The objectives of this systematic review were 1 ) to evaluate the validity of electronic self-monitoring tools as a method of evaluating mood compared to clinical rating scales for depression and mania and 2 ) to investigate the effect of electronic self-monitoring tools on clinical ly relevant outcomes in bipolar disorder .
There are yet few studies on the effect of  electronic self-monitoring of mood  in bipolar disorder .