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Bipolar disorder is one of the most common, and disabling, conditions affecting humankind. Each year, millions of individuals struggle with the effects of this illness. Although clinically well recognized for decades, if not centuries, the causes of this condition remain incompletely understood. However, significant technological advances in both neuroimaging and genetic research have revealed clues about the neurophysiological basis of bipolar illness. In this second edition of The Bipolar Brain, leading experts in neuroimaging and genetics discuss recent discoveries in bipolar disorder that identify the structural, functional and chemical brain changes that seem to underlie this condition, as well as the possible genetic causes of these brain events. New technologies such as miRNA, cerebral blood flow, and fMRI are presented. Based upon these discussions, the authors then integrate these diverse considerations to develop a specific neurophysiological model of bipolar disorder. This model provides a resource to guide clinicians as they struggle to understand this illness, as well as a guide for future investigations into the causes of bipolar disorder. With this guide in hand, this book will lead to a new framework for understanding bipolar disorder in order to, ultimately, develop improved therapies for affected individuals and novel strategies to prevent the onset in children at risk for this condition.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a serious, debilitating, life-shortening illness that affects many persons of all ages and backgrounds. The lifetime risk for MDD is 7-12% for men and 20-25% for women (Kessler et al., 2003). MDD is a disabling disorder that costs the U.S. over $200 billion per year in direct and indirect costs (Greenberg et al., 2015), and is the leading cause of disability worldwide (WHO, 2018). Depression also has detrimental effects on all aspects of social functioning (e.g., self-care, social role, and family life, including household, marital, kinship, and parental roles). While there have been several treatments that are efficacious, many individuals suffering from depression experience life-long challenges due to the chronic and episodic nature of the disease. Identifying strategies to find the right treatments for the right patients is critical. Ongoing research has explored the importance of examining physiologic biomarkers, as well as clinical characteristics to gain a better understanding of subtypes of depression, which will lead to improved treatments and better outcomes. This book provides an introduction to the etiology and pathophysiology of depression, common comorbidities and differential diagnoses, pharmacotherapy strategies, psychotherapeutic and neuromodulation interventions, novel and non-traditional treatment strategies, and considerations in special populations.

Stress has been recognized as an important factor in the development or recurrence of various mental disorders, from major depressive disorder to bipolar disorder to anxiety disorders. Stressful stimuli also appear to exert their effects by acting upon individuals with susceptible genotypes. Over the past 50 years, animal models have been developed to study these dynamic interactions between stressful stimuli and genetically susceptible individuals during prenatal and postnatal development and into adulthood. Stress and Mental Disorders: Insights from Animal Models begins with a discussion of the history of psychiatric diagnosis and the recent goal of moving toward precision psychiatry, followed by a review of clinical research on connections between stressful stimuli and the development of psychiatric disorders. Chapters are also included on neuroendocrine, immune, and brain systems involved in responses to stress. Additional chapters focus on the development of animal models in psychiatry and the susceptibility of the developing organism to stressful stimuli. Subsequent chapters are devoted to animal models of specific stress-sensitive psychiatric disorders, including schizophrenia, autism spectrum disorders, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorders, depression, and post-traumatic stress disorder. These chapters also focus on identification of promising molecular targets for development of new drug therapies. The section concludes with a chapter on animal models of resilience to stress-induced behavioral alterations as a newer approach to understanding why some animals are susceptible to stress and others are resilient, even though they are essentially genetically identical. The final chapter discusses how these basic laboratory studies are providing promising leads for future breakthroughs in the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of mental disorders.

Determining the biological bases for behavior, and the extent to which we can observe and explain their neural underpinnings, requires a bold, broadly defined research methodology. The interdisciplinary entries in this handbook are organized around the principle of'molecular psychology,'which unites cutting-edge research from such wide-ranging disciplines as clinical neuroscience and genetics, psychology, behavioral neuroscience, and neuroethology. For the first time in a single volume, leaders in diverse research areas use molecular approaches to investigate social behavior, psychopathology, emotion, cognition and stress in healthy volunteers, patient populations, and an array of non-human species including rodents, insects, fish, and non-human primates. Chapters draw on molecular methods covering candidate genes, genome-wide association studies, copy number variations, gene expression studies, and epigenetics while addressing the ethical, legal, and social issues to emerge from this new and exciting research approach.

Bipolar disorder is one of the most common, and disabling, conditions affecting human kind. Each year, millions of individuals struggle with the effects of this illness. Although clinically well recognized for decades, if not centuries, the causes of this condition remain incompletely understood. However, in the past decade, significant technological advances in both neuroimaging and genetic research have revealed clues about the neurophysiological basis of bipolar illness. In this book, leading experts in neuroimaging and genetics discuss recent discoveries in bipolar disorder that identify both the structural, functional and chemical brain changes that seem to underlie this condition, as well as the possible genetic causes of these brain events. Based upon these discussions, the book then integrates these diverse considerations to develop a specific neurophysiological model of bipolar disorder. This model provides a resource to guide clinicians and patients as they struggle to understand this illness, as well as a guide for future investigations into the causes of bipolar disorder. With this guide in hand, this book will lead to a new framework for understanding bipolar disorder in order to, ultimately, develop improved therapies for affected individuals and novel strategies to prevent the onset in children at risk for this condition.