PSY 3132 Lecture Notes - Interpersonal Psychotherapy, Cognitive Restructuring, Reduced Affect Display
Document Summary
Bipolar disorder is one of the mot heritable of disorders. Genes account for possibly 85% of variance in whether a person becomes manic. Evidence favouring the hypothesis that bipolar disorder results from a dominant gene on the 11th chromosome. Within bipolar disorder, variation in the brain-derived neurotrophic factor (bdnf) gene appears to predict risk for developing rapid cycling. Some people seem to be genetically predisposed to the onset of mdd when confronted with a series of adverse life-events. Serotonin transporter gene-linked promoter region (5-httlpr), which is involved in modulating serotonin levels, is a significant predictor of first major depression onset following multiple adverse events. The original theory posited that low levels of norepinephrine and dopamine lead to depression and high levels to mania. The serotonin theory suggests that serotonin, a neurotransmitter presumed to play a role in the regulation of norepinephrine, also produces depression and mania.