Around three in 200 people suffer from bipolar disorder - ?manic depression?. The underlying, physiological causes for this disorder are as elusive as its symptoms are distressing. Although it seems to run in families, it is not simply inherited: several genes are at work. At present, however, there remains a conceptual gulf between possible genetic causes and observed clinical symptoms.
A provocative and speculative model for the underlying cause of bipolar disorder is presented by two researchers from the University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia, writing in Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. In their report, John D. Pettigrew and Steven M. Miller make the connection between the different cognitive ?styles? of the two halves of the brain, and how these halves - the ?cerebral hemispheres? - compete for our conscious attention. They propose that bipolar disorder may be a consequence of the slower-than-normal switching of consciousness between the cerebral hemispheres, and that this switching may be under the control of physiological mechanisms that might be accessible to treatment.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution