World of Psychology

Lithium Builds Brain Matter in Bipolar Brains

By John M. Grohol, PsyD
Founder & Editor-in-Chief

Back on April 6, UCLA published a press release about a how lithium, the standard of treatment for bipolar disorder, helps build gray brain matter.

I’ll let the research speak for itself –

These new findings suggest that lithium may work by increasing the amount of gray matter in particular brain areas, which in turn suggests that existing gray matter in these regions of bipolar brains may be underused or dysfunctional.

and

The neurobiological underpinnings of bipolar disorder — an illness marked by a roller coaster of emotions between mania and depression — are not well understood. Nor is it understood how lithium works in controlling these severe mood swings, even though it has been the standard treatment for some 50 years.

This study helps contribute to our body knowledge about the effects of bipolar disorder on the brain structure, with one more data point. However, we’re still a long way to understanding the actual mechanisms involved in creating “bipolar disorder” in the brain.

If we know so little about lithium, a drug that’s been used for 50 years in the treatment of bipolar disorder, imagine how little we know about newer mood stabilizers.

The study will appear in the July issue of the journal Biological Psychiatry.


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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 12 Apr 2007
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.

APA Reference
Grohol, J. (2007). Lithium Builds Brain Matter in Bipolar Brains. Psych Central. Retrieved on February 14, 2012, from http://psychcentral.com/blog/archives/2007/04/12/lithium-builds-brain-matter-in-bipolar-brains/

 

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