Stephanie Luis

E-Portfolio Assignment
Biology 1090
Bipolar Disorder
Bipolar Disorder, also known as Manic Depression, is a disorder that causes extreme
emotional mood swings such as mania, hypomania, and depression. When depression comes
along people tend to lose interest or pleasure in their activities, they also feel hopeless or sad.
There are also times when the mood shifts to hypomania and suddenly theres a feeling of
excitement and happiness, like theyre full of energy. Then when mania strikes there is suddenly
a flood of thoughts going throw their heads, they tend to get distracted easier, rapid and
excessive talking starts happening, they start needing less sleep, start behaving recklessly, there
is unrealistic belief in ones ability, and may cause delusion. Its difficult to tell when someones
mood will shift since it seems to happen a few times a year for some, or several times a week for
people others.
It is still unknown to doctors what exactly causes the bipolar disorder, but they have
concluded that it often runs in families, and it seems like there are genetic parts to it as well.
There is evidence that the severity of the disorder depend on the persons lifestyle issues and
environment. Problems with specific brain circuits and the balance of the brain, also known as
neurotransmitters, are to some extent causes of this disorder.
Genetic studies were conducted and revealed that bipolar disorder can run in families.
Scientist at the Institute of Psychiatry (IoP) at King's College London report that if an identical
twin has bipolar disorder the other twin has a 70% chance of developing dipolar disorder as well.

Since identical twins are so alike this percentage is greater on them than another sibling in the
family.
In another study at Johns Hopkins University, they concluded that bipolar II disorder is
the most common diagnosis of relatives in both bipolar I and bipolar II families. The
researchers found that 40% of the 47 first-degree relatives of the bipolar II patients also had
bipolar II disorder; 22% of the 219 first-degree relatives of the bipolar I patients had bipolar II
disorder.
There are three brain chemicals that are involved in the brain and body functions, they are
Noradrenaline, serotonin, and dopamine. Noradrenaline and serotonin are linked to mood
disorders, and dopamine is linked to the pleasure system of the brain. The dopamine system is
connected to psychosis and schizophrenia when the dopamine is disrupted. These two metal
disorders characterize distortion in reality and logical thought patters and behaviors. Serotonin is
connected to sleep, wakefulness, sexual activity, eating, learning, impulsivity, and memory. The
reason why serotonin is linked to mood disorder is because serotonin is connected to many body
functions, so when there is an abnormal function in the brain it affects some of these body
functions causing the mood disorders.
Some physical signs due to bipolar disorder are fatigue or loss of energy in the body,
physical and mental sluggishness, sleeping problems, and appetite or weight changes. Drastic
mood changes have a big effect on how one takes care of themselves. If a person is going
through the manic phase of bipolar disorder it is most likely that they are not thinking clearly
which could cause worse change to their body physically.

For people with bipolar disorder there are both treatments and medications. For the
treatments patients have to balance their moods by taking medications. Depending on the person
the doctor prescribes the best long term treatment recommended for the patient, since bipolar
disorder is lifelong. There may be times when the patient feels better after a couple sessions, but
the treatments are meant to be long-term. If treatments are skipped the patient will be at high risk
of relapse of symptoms, or minor mood changes which may turn into high depression or mania.
There are also treatments for patient who have a problem with alcohol or drugs. It is much more
difficult to manage bipolar disorder if the substance is not taken care of. Hospitalization is
recommended for patients who behave dangerously, feel suicidal or become detached from
reality. Hospitalization will help the patient feel safe and calm which will help stabilize their
mood.
Medications are prescribed to patients depending on their symptoms. Mood stabilizers are
recommended for both bipolar I and II patients to help them control manic or hypomanic. If
depression and mania persist then an antipsychotic medication will be recommended. To better
manage depression doctors might prescribe an antidepressant because they want to decrease the
risk of a manic episode. Antidepressant are usually prescribe with a mood stabilizer or
antipsychotic. The antidepressant-antipsychotic Symbyax is specifically for patients with bipolar
I to treat depressive episodes. And the anti-anxiety medication called Benzodiazepines, it is
prescribed to improve sleep and used to relieve anxiety on a short-term basis.

Work Cited
Mayo Clinic Staff. Bipolar Disorder. Mayo Clinic. MD, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Joseph Goldberg, Hypomania and Mania in Bipolar Disorder. Mayo Clinic. MD, 28 Oct, 2014.
Web. 22 Nov. 2015.
Joseph Goldburg, Causes of Bipolar Disorder. Mayo Clinic. MD, 11 Sept, 2014. Web. 22 Nov.
2015.
London, King's College. "Epigenetic Alterations Of Psychiatric Disorders Revealed By Study Of
Twins." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 23 Sep. 2011. Web. 22 Nov, 2015.
Melinda Smith, and Jeanne Segal, Bipolar Disorder Signs and Symptoms. Help Guide. Oct,
2015. Web. 22 Nov, 2015.
Mayo Clinic Staff. Treatments and Drugs. Mayo Clinic. MD, 10 Feb. 2015. Web. 22 Nov.
2015.