Neuropathology of Bipolar Disorder
Doctor Ellen Leibenluft discusses brain regions associated with bipolar disorder, including the amygdala (which may be smaller) and prefrontal cortex (which may have different activity).
There is increasing attention being paid to the brain regions that are dysfunctional in bipolar disorder - bipolar disorder both in children and in adults. It appears that one important region is the amygdala, which is a little area in our brain; 'amygdala' means 'almond' in greed. It’s inside our temporal lobes so the amygdala is located in the brain, and it is important in terms of identifying in the environment what's important to us emotionally. If we see danger for example, the amygdala will become activated. If we see anything that we consider to be very rewarding, the amygdala will become activated. There is some evidence in both adults and children with bipolar disorder that the amygdala tends to respond more in people with bipolar disorder than it does in people without bipolar disorder, so that maybe the brains of people with bipolar disorder are seeing the world as more emotional than are people without bipolar disorder. There is also evidence in children with bipolar disorder that the amygdala is smaller than it should be. In adults, it’s more of a mixed literature, some studies say it’s too small, some say it’s too big, but in children it seems that it’s pretty clear that it’s likely to be too small. Other parts of the brain that people have been very interested in bipolar disorder include the prefrontal cortex. The prefrontal cortex has many different parts but the two parts of interest are the so called dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex and the ventral prefrontal cortex. The ventral prefrontal cortex is very tightly connected to the amygdala, and like the amygdala deals with what’s rewarding and what isn’t rewarding in our environment. There is some literature and some data that like the amygdala, the ventral lateral prefrontal cortex may be too active at times in people with bipolar disorder. On the other hand the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex is the part that’s kind of the rational part; it’s the part that figures out what’s going on in the world and figures out how can we best strategize to get what we want. There’s some evidence that that’s less active in people with bipolar disorder than in people without. So putting it all together, you’ve kind of got a situation where the emotional parts of the brain may be particularly active in people with bipolar disorder, and the part of the brain that supposed to sort of damp down the emotional parts of the brain may be a bit less active in people with bipolar disorder.
bipolar, disorder, amygdala, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, pfc, dlpfc,temporal brain, ellen, leibenluft
- ID: 2355
- Source: DNALC.G2C
- Download: Theora Video MPEG 4 Video Theora Video MPEG 4 Video
Related Content
2155. Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
Professor Philip Shaw outlines the main functions of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which include planning, attention, and working memory.
2358. Neurotransmitters Systems Work Together
Doctor Ellen Leibenluft explains that neurotransmitters and neuromodulators in the brain are heavily inter-connected and work together as a system.
2099. Prefrontal Cortex
The prefrontal cortex is thought to play an important role in 'higher' brain functions. It is a critical part of the executive system, which refers to planning, reasoning, and judgment.
817. Neural Structures and Schizophrenia
Professor David Lewis discusses how the diversity of symptoms in schizophrenia is reflected in the diversity of genetic and neural causes of the disorder.
2359. Bipolar Disorder, Genetics, and the Brain
Doctor Ellen Lebienluft explains how brain imaging data is being combined with genetic research to understand how bipolar disorder affects brain function.
2360. Bipolar Disorder, Autism and Facial Expressions
Doctor Ellen Leibenluft explains that although individuals with bipolar disorder can have trouble interpreting emotional expressions, this is much more subtle than in autism.
2153. Neuropathology of ADHD
Professor Philip Shaw discusses three brain areas in relation to the neuropathology of ADHD: the frontal cortex, amygdala, and hippocampus.
2288. The Amygdala and PFC Process Stress and Anxiety
Doctor Daniel Pine explains that in rodents, humans, and other primates, the amygdala mediates the stress response. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) is also important.
2223. Bipolar disorder
An overview of bipolar disorder-related content on Genes to Cognition Online.
2356. Biochemistry of Bipolar Disorder
Doctor Ellen Leibenluft discusses some of the biochemicals that have been associated with bipolar disorder, including dopamine, serotonin, and glutamate.