BioSci 41 Ch 8

Enlarged ventricles

Associated with bipolar disorder; indicates less neural tissue and does not mean the brain is shrinking.

Hyperintensity signals

Areas brighter than surrounding tissue on an MRI, indicating areas of cell death.

Amygdala

Emotional hub of the brain involved in forming memories and is more active in those with bipolar disorder.

Parahippocampal gyrus

Involved in determining the emotional gist and is more active in individuals with bipolar disorder.

Cingulate cortex

Connects the limbic system to other brain regions and plays a role in emotional processing.

Anterior cingulate cortex (ACC)

Involved in separating and identifying emotions; may have deficient activity in bipolar disorder.

fMRI findings in bipolar disorder

Show decreased right-sided grey matter in the frontal cortex in adults with bipolar disorder.

Emotional recognition in bipolar disorder

Individuals struggle to recognize emotions, leading to overactivity in the amygdala.

Cell death

Revealed by hyperintensity signals on MRI; indicates loss of brain matter.

Developmental changes in amygdala activity

Younger children show increased left amygdala activity, shifting to the right in adults.

Limbic system

A network of brain regions involved in emotion, including the amygdala and parahippocampal gyrus.

Connectivity in ACC

Deficient connectivity in the ACC may contribute to mood regulation issues in bipolar disorder.

Emotion gist identification

The Parahippocampal gyrus helps in interpreting the emotional context, such as sarcasm or affection.

Cerebrospinal fluid

Fluid that bathes the brain and is housed within the ventricles; increase in size can indicate neural tissue loss.

Survival function of the amygdala

Hardwired to assist in survival and good decision-making through emotional processing.

Neural tissue loss

Can occur in bipolar disorder as a result of enlarged ventricles.

Emotional processing

More active amygdala indicates difficulties in processing and understanding emotions.

Brain activation patterns

Influenced by age, changing how the amygdala responds to emotional cues.