Year: 2024
Type: dissertation
Abstract: Bipolar disorder (BD) is a dysregulation of emotion and instability of mood, associated with abnormal brain network oscillations. BD is treated primarily with Li+, as well as with selected anti-epileptic drugs that can stabilize brain networks by acting on membrane ion channels. Despite the numerous years that have elapsed since Li+ was first discovered as a mood stabiliser, we still only have a vague idea of how Li+ exerts its mechanism of action. Most explanations favour intracellular secondary signalling mechanisms, which are likely to be involved either directly or indirectly. However, I hypothesized that additional meaningful information could be gleaned approaching Li+ treatment of BD as an electrophysiological and channelopathy issue. For example, Li+ may exert its effects on fundamental electrophysiological processes such as burst firing, which encodes, processes and propagates neuronal signals throughout the brain and is important in plasticity. Previous research focused on Li+ effects on action potential waveforms. Ion channel dynamics, however, also influence burst firing. For this project, I focused on how burst firing was affected by Li+ and how Li+ interacted with the extracellular milieu and the history of activity to alter burst firing.
Author: Williams, Madelaine
Institution: University of Otago
Language: English
Subfield: Psychiatry and Mental health
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W7199002085