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Risk factors for bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder is considerably less frequent than major depressive disorder. In the United States, 1 out of every 167 people meets the criteria for bipolar disorder each year, and 1 out of 100 meet the criteria within their lifetime (Merikangas et al., 2011). The rates are higher in men than in women, and about half of those with this disorder report onset before the age of 25 (Merikangas et al., 2011). Around 90% of those with bipolar disorder have a comorbid disorder, most often an anxiety disorder or a substance abuse problem. Unfortunately, close to half of the people suffering from bipolar disorder do not receive treatment (Merikangas&Tohen, 2011). Suicide rates are extremely high among those with bipolar disorder: around 36% of individuals with this disorder attempt suicide at least once in their lifetime (Novick, Swartz,&Frank, 2010), and between 15%–19% complete suicide (Newman, 2004).

The biological basis of mood disorders

Mood disorders have been shown to have a strong genetic and biological basis. Relatives of those with major depressive disorder have double the risk of developing major depressive disorder, whereas relatives of patients with bipolar disorder have over nine times the risk (Merikangas et al., 2011). The rate of concordance for major depressive disorder is higher among identical twins than fraternal twins (50% vs. 38%, respectively), as is that of bipolar disorder (67% vs. 16%, respectively), suggesting that genetic factors play a stronger role in bipolar disorder than in major depressive disorder (Merikangas et al. 2011).

People with mood disorders often have imbalances in certain neurotransmitters, particularly norepinephrine and serotonin (Thase, 2009). These neurotransmitters are important regulators of the bodily functions that are disrupted in mood disorders, including appetite, sex drive, sleep, arousal, and mood. Medications that are used to treat major depressive disorder typically boost serotonin and norepinephrine activity, whereas lithium—used in the treatment of bipolar disorder—blocks norepinephrine activity at the synapses ( [link] ).

An illustration shows the synaptic space between two neurons with neurotransmitters being released into the synapse and attaching to receptors.
Many medications designed to treat mood disorders work by altering neurotransmitter activity in the neural synapse.

Depression is linked to abnormal activity in several regions of the brain (Fitzgerald, Laird, Maller,&Daskalakis, 2008) including those important in assessing the emotional significance of stimuli and experiencing emotions (amygdala), and in regulating and controlling emotions (like the prefrontal cortex, or PFC) (LeMoult, Castonguay, Joormann,&McAleavey, 2013). Depressed individuals show elevated amygdala activity (Drevets, Bogers,&Raichle, 2002), especially when presented with negative emotional stimuli, such as photos of sad faces ( [link] ) (Surguladze et al., 2005). Interestingly, heightened amygdala activation to negative emotional stimuli among depressed persons occurs even when stimuli are presented outside of conscious awareness (Victor, Furey, Fromm, Öhman,&Drevets, 2010), and it persists even after the negative emotional stimuli are no longer present (Siegle, Thompson, Carter, Steinhauer,&Thase, 2007). Additionally, depressed individuals exhibit less activation in the prefrontal, particularly on the left side (Davidson, Pizzagalli,&Nitschke, 2009). Because the PFC can dampen amygdala activation, thereby enabling one to suppress negative emotions (Phan et al., 2005), decreased activation in certain regions of the PFC may inhibit its ability to override negative emotions that might then lead to more negative mood states (Davidson et al., 2009). These findings suggest that depressed persons are more prone to react to emotionally negative stimuli, yet have greater difficulty controlling these reactions.

Questions & Answers

what does preconceived mean
sammie Reply
physiological Psychology
Nwosu Reply
How can I develope my cognitive domain
Amanyire Reply
why is communication effective
Dakolo Reply
Communication is effective because it allows individuals to share ideas, thoughts, and information with others.
effective communication can lead to improved outcomes in various settings, including personal relationships, business environments, and educational settings. By communicating effectively, individuals can negotiate effectively, solve problems collaboratively, and work towards common goals.
it starts up serve and return practice/assessments.it helps find voice talking therapy also assessments through relaxed conversation.
miss
Every time someone flushes a toilet in the apartment building, the person begins to jumb back automatically after hearing the flush, before the water temperature changes. Identify the types of learning, if it is classical conditioning identify the NS, UCS, CS and CR. If it is operant conditioning, identify the type of consequence positive reinforcement, negative reinforcement or punishment
Wekolamo Reply
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Wekolamo
because it helps many people around the world to understand how to interact with other people and understand them well, for example at work (job).
Manix Reply
Agreed 👍 There are many parts of our brains and behaviors, we really need to get to know. Blessings for everyone and happy Sunday!
ARC
A child is a member of community not society elucidate ?
JESSY Reply
Isn't practices worldwide, be it psychology, be it science. isn't much just a false belief of control over something the mind cannot truly comprehend?
Simon Reply
compare and contrast skinner's perspective on personality development on freud
namakula Reply
Skinner skipped the whole unconscious phenomenon and rather emphasized on classical conditioning
war
explain how nature and nurture affect the development and later the productivity of an individual.
Amesalu Reply
nature is an hereditary factor while nurture is an environmental factor which constitute an individual personality. so if an individual's parent has a deviant behavior and was also brought up in an deviant environment, observation of the behavior and the inborn trait we make the individual deviant.
Samuel
I am taking this course because I am hoping that I could somehow learn more about my chosen field of interest and due to the fact that being a PsyD really ignites my passion as an individual the more I hope to learn about developing and literally explore the complexity of my critical thinking skills
Zyryn Reply
good👍
Jonathan
and having a good philosophy of the world is like a sandwich and a peanut butter 👍
Jonathan
generally amnesi how long yrs memory loss
Kelu Reply
interpersonal relationships
Abdulfatai Reply
What would be the best educational aid(s) for gifted kids/savants?
Heidi Reply
treat them normal, if they want help then give them. that will make everyone happy
Saurabh
What are the treatment for autism?
Magret Reply
hello. autism is a umbrella term. autistic kids have different disorder overlapping. for example. a kid may show symptoms of ADHD and also learning disabilities. before treatment please make sure the kid doesn't have physical disabilities like hearing..vision..speech problem. sometimes these
Jharna
continue.. sometimes due to these physical problems..the diagnosis may be misdiagnosed. treatment for autism. well it depends on the severity. since autistic kids have problems in communicating and adopting to the environment.. it's best to expose the child in situations where the child
Jharna
child interact with other kids under doc supervision. play therapy. speech therapy. Engaging in different activities that activate most parts of the brain.. like drawing..painting. matching color board game. string and beads game. the more you interact with the child the more effective
Jharna
results you'll get.. please consult a therapist to know what suits best on your child. and last as a parent. I know sometimes it's overwhelming to guide a special kid. but trust the process and be strong and patient as a parent.
Jharna

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Source:  OpenStax, Psychology. OpenStax CNX. Feb 03, 2015 Download for free at https://legacy.cnx.org/content/col11629/1.5
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