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Science News About Bipolar Disorder

Dressed in a white shirt and red tie, Josh Santana smiles with the Boston cityscape behind him.
The Ups and Downs of Bipolar Disorder

75th Anniversary

Josh Santana shares his story of growing up with ADHD and bipolar disorder.

A doctor wearing a white lab coat and stethoscope facing a male patient wearing a white and blue flannel shirt.
Clinical Decision Support System Reduces Cardiovascular Risk in Patients With Serious Mental Illness

A new study shows the use of a clinical decision support system to prompt the use of shared decision-making tools, such as handouts, may result in positive impacts on long-term cardiovascular health in patients with serious mental illness.

Image of brain and DNA strands
Genomic Data From More Than 41,000 People Shed New Light on Bipolar Disorder

In the largest genome-wide association study of bipolar disorder to date, researchers found about twice as many genetic locations associated with bipolar disorder as reported in previous studies. These and other findings help improve our understanding of the biological origins of bipolar disorder.

Photo of a pair of woman’s hands holding another woman’s hand on a table.
Assessing Suicide Risk Among Childbearing Women in the U.S. Before and After Giving Birth

NIMH-supported researchers investigated suicide risk among women in the year before and year after giving birth.

Illustration of DNA double helix
Gene Readouts Contribute To Distinctness of Mental Disorders

A new study conducted by researchers at NIMH suggests that differences in the expression of gene transcripts – readouts copied from DNA that help maintain and build our cells – may hold the key to understanding how mental disorders with shared genetic risk factors result in different patterns of onset, symptoms, course of illness, and treatment responses.

Dr. Carlos Zarate
NIMH’s Carlos Zarate Jr., M.D., Elected to National Academy of Medicine

Carlos Zarate Jr., M.D., chief of the Experimental Therapeutics and Pathophysiology Branch within the NIMH Intramural Research Program, has been elected to the National Academy of Medicine.

photo of residential street with bright street lights at dusk
Outdoor Light Linked with Teens’ Sleep and Mental Health

A large-scale study of U.S. teens shows associations between outdoor, artificial light at night and health outcomes.

brain scan showing molecular structure
2,000 Human Brains Yield Clues to How Genes Raise Risk for Mental Illnesses

PsychENCODE researchers are discovering the biological mechanisms by which mental illness risk genes work in the human brain.

Dynamic Associations Among Motor Activity, Sleep, Energy, and Mood Could Suggest New Focus for Depression Treatment
Dynamic Associations Among Motor Activity, Sleep, Energy, and Mood Could Suggest New Focus for Depression Treatment

A new study looking at interactions among sleep, energy, activity level, and mood suggests that instability in activity and sleep systems could lead to mood changes. The findings suggest new targets for depression treatment.

MRI scan of infant's brain
Inflammation in Pregnant Moms Linked to Child’s Brain Development

High levels of maternal inflammation during pregnancy have been linked to effects in children, including reduced brain circuit communications and altered long-distance brain wiring at birth, poorer cognitive function at one year – and to reduced impulse control and working memory at two years.

Risperidone docked in D2 receptor
Molecular Secrets Revealed: Antipsychotic Docked in its Receptor

Scientists have deciphered the molecular structure of a widely-prescribed antipsychotic docked in its key human brain receptor. The discovery may hold clues to designing better treatments for schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and other mental illnesses.

zebrafish brain
Brain’s Alertness Circuitry Conserved Through Evolution

Using a molecular method likely to become widely adopted by the field, researchers have discovered brain circuitry essential for alertness – and for brain states more generally.

mature adults hands holding canes
Mood Stabilizing Medications an Effective Option for Older Adults with Bipolar Disorder

Two standard medications for bipolar disorder were effective in controlling symptoms at doses tailored to older people in a clinical trial of treatment in adults over age 60.

Richard Nakamura, Ph.D.
Coping With Familial Mental Illness in Stressful Times

“An NIH/NIMH lifer” reveals how his Asian American family successfully coped with severe mental illness compounded by discrimination.

National Institute of Mental Health
Twitter Chat on Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder and Severe Irritability

A live Twitter chat discussing the symptoms and treatments for disruptive mood dysregulation disorder and severe irritability.

group of teens talking
Symptoms Outdo Diagnoses in Predicting Bipolar Disorder in At-Risk Youth

Three types of symptoms emerged as powerful predictors of whether a youth with one parent with bipolar disorder will go on to develop the disorder, according to a new NIMH-funded study of 391 at-risk youth.

High Chromosomes
Genome-Wide Study Yields Markers of Lithium Response

Genome-Wide Study Yields Markers of Lithium Response

Biotypes MRI
Biomarkers Outperform Symptoms in Parsing Psychosis Subgroups

Three biomarker-based categories, called “biotypes,” outperformed traditional diagnoses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder with psychosis, in sorting psychosis cases into distinct subgroups on the basis of brain biology

NIMH Twitter Chat
Twitter Chat on Pediatric Bipolar Disorder

Learn about the signs, symptoms, and treatments for pediatric bipolar disorder during a Twitter chat with NIMH expert Dr. Ken Towbin on October 8. #NIMHchats

double helix
Disorders Share Risk Gene Pathways for Immune, Epigenetic Regulation

Risk genes for different mental disorders work through same pathways

Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
Rapid Agent Restores Pleasure-seeking Ahead of Other Antidepressant Action

A drug being studied as a fast-acting mood-lifter restored pleasure-seeking behavior independent of – and ahead of – its other antidepressant effects.

Suspect Gene Corrupts Neural Connections
Suspect Gene Corrupts Neural Connections

Researchers have shown in patients’ cells how a rare mutation in a suspect gene disrupts the expression of dozens of other genes underlying neural connections.

highlighted CA2 region of hippocampus in mouse brain
Brain Region Singled Out for Social Memory, Possible Therapeutic Target for Select Brain Disorders

The hippocampus houses learning and memory—specifically the storage of knowledge of who, what, where, and when. Using a special transgenic mouse, researchers have now pinpointed a hippocampal region called CA2 that is important for social memory, the ability of animal to recognize another of the same species. Understanding this region could be useful in understanding and treating disorders characterized by altered social behaviors such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and autism.