Investigations into the neurobiology of bipolar disorder have produced evidence of abnormalities within many processes and chemicals in the brain. There are differences between bipolar disorder patients and controls in terms of the functioning of neurotransmitters such as dopamine, intracellular messengers such as GSK-3b, protein kinase C and calcium, and organelles such as mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum. A large number of genes have been identified as increasing the risk of bipolar disorder. This article reviews this evidence and examines the hypothesis that these observed abnormalities are contributing towards, or resulting from, a fundamental neurodegenerative process which affects neurons which ordinarily have a ‘mood stabilising’ effect.
Keywords: bipolar disorder, neurobiology, dopamine, calcium, mood stabilisers, neurodegeneration