Kiren
Ali
April
30, 2014
NEUR
300
Bipolar Disorder, from highs to lows
Bipolar disorder is a mental
disorder that is characterized by periods of depression or elevated highs.
Around three percent of the US population is affected by this disorder and it is
an important issue to discuss because BPD can affect the human body in many
ways, especially the brain. Both Dr. Weisenbach’s study and the study from
Bradley Hospital study the effects that BPD can have on the brain. Dr.
Weisenbach’s research showed that BPD over time can reduce cognitive abilities.
The 2014 study from Bradley Hospital found that children with bipolar disorder
have a greater activation of the right amygdala than their healthy
counterparts. The implications of this research are numerous and can help us
understand much more in the field of neuroscience.
Dr. Wegbreit, the author of the
Bradley Hospital study, was in charge of the experiments. They had a sample
size of over 1,000 individuals with a total of 100 functional magnetic
resonance imaging tests (fMRI). They performed a meta-analysis on these tests
to determine the effect that BPD has on the brain. Results from this analysis
showed that there was a high level of activation in the right side of the
brain, specifically in the amygdala. The amygdala is the portion of the brain
that controls emotions such as fear. This tells us a lot, considering that BPD
involves periods of mania, it makes sense that the area in charge of fear can
become overactive at times. The meta-analysis also showed a significant
reduction in activation of the anterior cingulate cortex of individuals.
Although Dr. Weisenbach did not
study specific areas of the brain and activation, she was able to shine light
on an important topic of discussion. Basically, her research found that BPD can
cause a significant reduction in cognitive skills. This is a problem because
people with BPD will have their memory and thinking skills deteriorate over
time. We can learn from her research that it is important to maintain healthy choices
to prevent further damages to cognition skills and such.
I believe the Dr. Wegbreit’s study
can be expanded to study other disorders besides BPD. We can learn a lot about
the brain and the neuroscience behind many disorders by studying different
tests and scans of brains of people who are affected. I would like to propose a
study where not only fMRI of the brain is taken, but PET and CAT scans are
taken as well to show all kinds of areas of the brains and many different
degrees of activation. From these other scans we can learn more about how BPD
affects people, rather than just areas of high activation. We can study which
areas of the brain tend to be enlarged, smaller, deformed, etc.
The implications for both of these
research studies are plentiful and extremely impactful. We can use this
information to diagnose many different kinds of disorders. We can use
information from Dr. Weisenbach’s study to diagnose BPD by testing for a
reduction in cognitive skills. Healthcare can be changed by this new
information. We will be able to impact the way we diagnose and treat
neurological disorders. I personally believe that this will be available to us
in the near future. I hope to see both of these studies expand to cover more in
the area of neuroscience.
References
Lifespan.
(2014, June 18). Difference found in way bipolar disorder affects brains of
children versus adults. ScienceDaily.
Retrieved May 1, 2015 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140618165113.htm
Weisenbach,
S. L., Marshall, D., Weldon, A. L., Ryan, K. A., Vederman, A. C., Kamali, M., Zubieta, J., McInnis, M. G., &
Langenecker, S. A. (2014). The double burden of age and disease on cognition and quality of life in bipolar
disorder. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry. 29(1),
952-961. https://luc.app.box.com/s/4c031c26bsh2bj3619si/1/2926649189/24809638293/1
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