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Is there a biological basis to the Bipolar spectrum?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  16 April 2020

M. Agius ,
J. Lee  and
D. Wotherspoon
M. Agius
Affiliation:
Psychiatry, South Essex University Partnership Foundation Trust, Luton, UK Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
J. Lee
Affiliation:
West Middlesex Hospital, Isleworth, UK
D. Wotherspoon
Affiliation:
Clinical School, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK

Abstract

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Background

The Bipolar Spectrum is usually presented as a Clinical Spectrum. We attempt to demonstrate that there is a neurobiological basis to this spectrum.

Method

We carried out a review of the literature.

Results

There is evidence, at a neuroimaging level, at a genetic level, and also at an intracellular level for a biological basis to the bipolar spectrum.

Discussion

What arises from this review is that the bipolar spectrum may be wider than previously thought. It is of interest that similar neuroimaging findings may be found in PTSD, Unipolar Depression, Bipolar Illness, and Borderline Personality Disorder.

Conclusion

The key biological issue regarding the bipolar spectrum is the mechanism by which unipolar depression evolves over time into bipolar illness. At present we can only speculate about this mechanism, but its elucidation will clarify how these illnesses are related in the bipolar spectrum.

Type
S11-01
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 26 , Issue S2: Abstracts of the 19th European Congress of Psychiatry , March 2011 , pp. 2049
Copyright
Copyright © European Psychiatric Association 2011
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