There could be a correlation between bipolar and alzheimers although my gut feel is that am sceptical of this. I have bipolar, had it for 26 years (developed it at 25 yrs old). I have always had a somewhat poor short term memory but I considered this was because I am usually thinking about several 'higher' topics rather than concentrating on the minutae of day to day functions. There has been demonstrated an association between abdentmindedness and high intelligence. And bipolar people are often highly intelligent. ..