What Happens in the Brain With Bipolar Disorder?

If you're wondering what happens in the brain with bipolar disorder, you're not alone. Bipolar disorder has a broader range of symptoms than any other mental illness. While people with bipolar disorder may exhibit impulsivity and poor judgment, many also engage in reckless behavior and unsafe sex. Sometimes, people with bipolar disorder will experience psychosis, delusions, or hallucinations. These symptoms may require hospitalization, especially if they're exhibiting dangerous behaviors.

Changes in gray matter

There is a high degree of heterogeneity in the brain volumes of patients with bipolar disorder. In particular, the right insula and left ACPG have higher gray-matter volumes. However, these differences do not seem to be correlated with the patient's gender. There is also some evidence that there is a gender effect. Nevertheless, this research is far from conclusive.

Bipolar disorder can have a substantial effect on gray-matter volume in the brain, which is associated with reduced levels of impulse control. It can also alter the way you process information and react to feelings. As a result, it can cause symptoms like fatigue, frustration, and difficulty performing simple tasks. People with bipolar disorder typically have a smaller hippocampus, which is responsible for long-term memory processing.

Deterioration of balance between pathways

Researchers have found that the depressive and manic phases are linked to a degeneration of the brain's white matter, the material that carries nerve cells. The degenerative changes in the brain's white matter represent a core change associated with BD, as are the variations in the brain network balances between these two phases. As such, cognitive remediation has been shown to improve both patient cognition and real-world functioning.

The study also revealed that frontolimbic brain abnormalities were associated with juvenile-onset of bipolar disorder. Researchers studied the relationship between neurotransmitter-related nuclei and the sensorimotor network, as well as their relationship to subcortical-cortical loops in the brain. Researchers studied patients with euthymic bipolar disorder, and the abnormality in frontolimbic-striatal functional connectivity correlated with working memory deficits.

Genetics

The discovery of genes that cause bipolar disorder has profound implications for understanding the pathophysiology of the disease. It could lead to dramatic changes in patient care, and raise important ethical concerns. Until recently, clinicians have been aware that bipolar disorder runs in families, but genetics had limited clinical significance. With advances in molecular genetics, however, we now have the tools to identify the genes that contribute to the disease.

In 1996, Barden et al. linked a region of the genome that causes Darier's disease to bipolar disorder. This region, called chromosome 12q, contained 130 individuals with bipolar disorder. The researchers subsequently extended their pedigree and obtained a Lod score of greater than three in the region. In fact, further genotyping yielded a Lod score of five for the region in question.

Environmental factors

Researchers have discovered an inherited sleep cycle that may protect patients at risk of developing bipolar disorder. The changes in the brain's wiring may help people at high risk of developing bipolar disorder avoid illness. These changes in the brain can be attributed to early life experiences that cause adversity, including stress, conflict, and the loss of a loved one. Genetic studies suggest that environmental factors and life events may interact to affect the development of bipolar disorder.

Although bipolar disorder is less common in late life than in young adults, it is still common in older adults and accounts for an approximately four percent prevalence. Moreover, older patients started experiencing symptoms at later ages. While they have lower rates of substance abuse, they are at a lower risk of developing bipolar disorder. The age at which bipolar disorder is diagnosed also varies. This may be because people in their late age often present with more variety in the symptoms.

Treatment

Lifestyle management for bipolar disorder can help prevent episodes and manage symptoms. Lifestyle management may include avoidance of alcohol and drugs, diets that boost mood, and exercise. It is also important to avoid activities that exacerbate symptoms, such as long hours of sitting in front of the television or animated conversations. It is also important to avoid taking other medications, as some can worsen mood symptoms or interfere with prescription drugs. Here are some ways to make lifestyle management easier:

First, the treatment of the bipolar disorder is aimed at managing the acute phases of the illness and preventing relapses. Medications for mania represent the most prominent face of BD but are less common than depressive episodes. Medications for mania are effective for most patients and often involve first-line treatment with lithium, valproate, or atypical antipsychotics. Other treatments may also be used, depending on the severity and frequency of episodes.