Temporal lobe and limbic structures may be abnormal in bipolar disorder. T2-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans frequently show deep white matter lesions. MRI was performed on 50 young (19–39 years) euthymic patients with bipolar disorder and 26 controls. Mean temporal lobe volumes were reduced in patients (right, 9.42 cm3; left, 6.33 cm3) but this could not be ascribed to a specific structure. Deep white matter lesions were present in 5 patients but no controls raising questions of their aetiological significance.