last updated 19-03-2024

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disorder

Bipolar disease consists of periods of abnormally and persistently elevated, expansive or irritable moods. Symptoms include grandiosity, flight of ideas, and a decreased need for sleep. The pathophysiology of bipolar disorder remains elusive despite a lot of evidence regarding the genetic, pharmacologic, anatomic and physiologic nature of the symptoms and the disease.

 

Unfortunately, no unifying hypothesis exists. One commonly used model describes a type of electrophysiological "kindling" (which means to flare-up or bring into being). It is assumed that there is an increase in either pre- or post-synaptic activity that builds until the entire posterior cingulate is involved.

 

1

A patient suffering from bipolar I disorder is likely to present all the following symptoms EXCEPT:

2

The kindling theory of bipolar disorder can be summarized as: