Mania / hypomania
Elevated or irritable energy with reduced need for sleep.
Bipolar illness is episodic yet leaves trait vulnerabilities in sleep, reward sensitivity and cognitive control between episodes.
Educational neuroscience context only — not medical advice, diagnosis or a substitute for emergency or clinical care. If you are in crisis, seek local emergency services or a licensed clinician.
Pillars
Bipolar depression
Major depressive episodes within bipolar course.
Circadian vulnerability
Sleep and social-rhythm disruption as triggers.
Stabilising care
Mood stabilisers, monitoring and psychosocial structure.
Key facts
Episode diagnosis
Clinical criteria — not a personality label.
Genetic contribution
High heritability with polygenic architecture.
Lithium legacy
Still a cornerstone for many, with monitoring needs.
Neuroimaging
State and trait corticolimbic findings; not diagnostic alone.
Substance risk
Stimulants, cannabis and alcohol can destabilise course.
Medical disclaimer
Educational neuroscience context only — not medical advice, diagnosis or a substitute for emergency or clinical care. If you are in crisis, seek local emergency services or a licensed clinician.
Pair with Mood, Sleep, Dopamine and Prefrontal neighbours — seek care for personal symptoms.
Sources & research
- Bipolar disorderClinical primer on bipolar disorder.DOI
- A critical appraisal of neuroimaging studies of bipolar disorder: toward a new conceptualization of underlying neural circuitryCritical neuroimaging synthesis for bipolar circuitry.DOI
- Evidence-based guidelines for treating bipolar disorder: Revised third edition recommendations from the British Association for PsychopharmacologyEvidence-based treatment guidelines.DOI
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